Media

Bloomberg | Trump’s Under-Radar Farm Chief Remakes Agency, Avoids Boss’s Ire

OCM Staff

Bloomberg By Alan Bjerga  Perdue pursues deregulation, business-friendly policies  Former Georgia governor shows ‘Trump administration at work’ Sonny Perdue.Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg In a town where deregulation is king, Sonny Perdue rules. Rather quietly. Perdue is the U.S. secretary of agriculture, running an agency with a $140 billion budget and a low profile. His traveling press corps, when there is one, can squeeze into the back of a van. He may be the most aggressive enforcer of President Donald Trump’s pro-business and Read More …

New Report Details Challenges Facing North Dakota Family Farmers

OCM Staff

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 16, 2018 Media Contacts: Chelsea Davis, 573-808-3553, chelsea@farmaction.us Angela Huffman, 614-390-7552, ahuffman@competitivemarkets.com New Report Details Challenges Facing North Dakota Family Farmers Grand Forks ND – Today, in a joint briefing with Family Farm Action, the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) released a report outlining the dire state of North Dakota family farmers and rural communities. Shockingly, only one in 10 farmers in North Dakota are considered young farmers with few returning to an industry Read More …

Policy Brief | State Series: Consolidation and the American Family Farm – North Dakota

OCM Staff

High levels of agribusiness and corporate farming concentration have serious implications for North Dakota, given that agriculture is the largest economic contributor in the state. The combination of consolidation and wealth extraction from rural communities has left little competition and fewer opportunities for the state’s next generation of farmers and ranchers. In addition to consolidation, multinational agribusinesses use largeness to their advantage by exerting influence over industry groups, policy, and programs intended to help farmers and consumers. The Read More …

Modern Farmer | Should a Poultry Farm Be Considered a Small Business? The OIG Says No

OCM Staff

Modern Farmer By Dan Nosowitz In a wonky, little-seen report released last week, the Office of the Inspector General made a huge statement about the lives of poultry farmers. The OIG took a look at the loans issued by the Small Business Administration, a federal agency that guarantees loans to—you guessed it—small businesses that might otherwise have trouble getting them. Specifically, this report looked at loans to contract poultry farmers, and it comes to a startling conclusion: these farmers are Read More …

KTIC / Rural Radio Network | Farmers Oppose Bayer-Monsanto Merger

OCM Staff

KTIC / Rural Radio Network WASHINGTON, D.C. — An overwhelming majority of surveyed farmers are concerned about the proposed Bayer-Monsanto merger and believe it will have a negative impact on independent farmers and farming communities, a poll has found. Bryce Doeschot talks with Joe Maxwell of the Organization for Competitive Markets about a recent poll that shows farmers are against the Monsanto/Bayer Merger: http://krvnam.streamon.fm/listen-pl-3641 According to the poll, of the farmers who responded: 93.7 percent are concerned about the Read More …

OCM Response to SBA Report on Poultry Grower Loans

OCM Staff

On March 6, 2018, the Small Business Administration’s Office of Inspector General issued a report on SBA loans made to poultry growers. It found that poultry companies “exercised such comprehensive control over the growers” that they no longer qualify as small businesses. Nevertheless, SBA has given out nearly $2 billion in loans to ineligible growers who are being set up to fail in a consolidated industry in which companies are able to dictate unfair prices, pit growers against Read More …

Poll: Farmers Overwhelmingly Oppose Bayer-Monsanto Merger

OCM Staff

For Immediate Release: March 8, 2018 Contacts: Patrick Davis, Friends of the Earth, (202) 222-0744, pdavis@foe.org Angela Huffman, Organization for Competitive Markets, (614) 390-7552, ahuffman@competitivemarkets.com Poll: Farmers Overwhelmingly Oppose Bayer-Monsanto Merger  Farmers’ concerns illustrate why merger should be blocked; milder remedies unlikely to work WASHINGTON, D.C. – An overwhelming majority of surveyed farmers are concerned about the proposed Bayer-Monsanto merger and believe it will have a negative impact on independent farmers and farming communities, a poll released today Read More …

Politico | Farm groups launch opposition to King’s interstate commerce bill

OCM Staff

Politico’s Morning Agriculture By Liz Crampton Farm groups launch opposition to King’s interstate commerce bill: More than 60 progressive farm groups sent a letter to House Agriculture Committee members today saying that they oppose H.R. 4879/3599, which would make it illegal for states to enact laws prohibiting the trade of agricultural goods based on how they were produced. The bill, introduced by Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa), is designed to thwart state regulations like the one in California that bans the sale of eggs from Read More …