Media

Over 200 Farm, Food and Rural Groups Endorse Agribusiness Merger Moratorium Bills

OCM Staff

Broad and Diverse Coalition Urges Members of Congress to Cosponsor Landmark Legislation Washington, D.C. — Today, a broad-based coalition of 213 farm, food, rural, faith and consumer advocacy organizations delivered a letter to Congress endorsing food and agribusiness merger moratorium bills and urging members of the House and Senate to cosponsor the legislation. Senator Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Representative Mark Pocan (D-WI) introduced the Food and Agribusiness Merger Moratorium and Antitrust Review Act of 2018 companion bills this Read More …

The Washington Post | Chinese-owned company qualifies for Trump’s anti-China farm bailout

OCM Staff

The Washington Post By Jeff Stein A Chinese-owned pork producer is eligible for federal payments under President Trump’s $12 billion farm bailout, a program that was established to help U.S. farmers hurt by Trump’s trade war with China. Smithfield Foods, a Virginia-based pork producer acquired in 2013 by a Chinese conglomerate now named WH Group, can apply for federal money under the bailout program created this summer, said Agriculture Department spokesman Carl E. Purvis. JBS, a subsidiary of Read More …

Latest Beef Recall Exposes Illusion of Choice

OCM Staff

This past week, almost seven million pounds of JBS beef were recalled after 57 people in 16 states were sickened by Salmonella poisoning. No surprise here. Just last year, JBS was caught exporting rotten beef worldwide and trying to cover up the stench using cancer-causing acid products. The latest JBS tainted meat scandal not only continues to ring alarm bells about the safety of JBS beef, but it also shows how few choices consumers actually have in the Read More …

Drovers | GIPSA Rules Back On USDA Agenda In 2019

OCM Staff

Drovers By Greg Henderson The U.S. Department of Agriculture intends to reopen the rulemaking process known as “Farmer Fair Practices Rules.” That announcement was made by a Department of Justice attorney arguing on behalf of USDA in court last week. During oral arguments in a lawsuit filed by the Organization for Competitive Markets, attorney Weili Shaw said USDA intends to put on its spring 2019 regulatory agenda the rulemaking process for Farmer Fair Practices, formerly known as the Read More …

Meatingplace | GIPSA rules fester as USDA goes back to the drawing board

OCM Staff

Meatingplace By Tom Johnston on 9/28/2018 USDA intends to put on its spring 2019 regulatory agenda the unsettled matter of rules governing how meatpackers contract with farmers and ranchers, with a possible notice of proposed rulemaking coming sometime after that — and then another rulemaking process to follow that notice. So said attorney Weili Shaw as he defended USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service Fair Trade Practices Program, formerly known as the Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration (GIPSA), on Wednesday in Read More …

Another Decade to Wait for Meaningful GIPSA Antitrust Enforcement?

OCM Staff

We had our day in court. On Wednesday, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit heard oral arguments in our lawsuit challenging the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s unlawful rollback of critical protections designed to safeguard family farms and ranches from predatory and retaliatory practices by big agribusiness corporations. Appearing on behalf of the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) and independent farmers, Democracy Forward argued that USDA acted unlawfully in withdrawing the Farmer Fair Practices Rules, or GIPSA Rules, last Read More …

Federal Hearing: Family Farmers Take USDA to Court for GIPSA Rule Withdrawal

OCM Staff

Family Farmers and Ranchers Sue Secretary Perdue for Illegally Halting Protections from Big Ag Abuses Farmers from Nebraska and Alabama Push Back Against Administration’s Attempt to Dismiss Their Concerns, Call on President Trump to Keep Promise to ‘Stand by America’s Farmers’ St. Louis, Mo. — Today, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit heard oral arguments in a lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s unlawful rollback of critical protections designed to safeguard family farms and ranches from predatory and Read More …

Screwed Again: The 2019 Beef Checkoff Budget is Out

OCM Staff

The 2019 beef checkoff budget is out, and global meatpacking corporations and their industry lobbying groups are the winners once again while American family farmers and ranchers continue to be taxed to fund their own demise. Under federal law, farmers of certain commodities (including pork, eggs, beef, and corn) are required to pay a portion of their sales into checkoff programs. These mandatory fees are intended to be used by the U.S. government to research and promote demand Read More …