By John Hansen, OCM Director Howdy friends and neighbors, Happy Fourth of July. As is my custom, I send along the Concord Hymn by Ralph Waldo Emerson to remind us of the historical significance family farmers played in the founding of our nation. Just as it is easy to not appreciate the importance of water to our very physical existence until the well goes dry, it is also easy to not appreciate the well that captures and produces Read More …
By John W. Boyd, Jr. and Mike Weaver This article first appeared in The Hill. Earlier this year, we planted our crops — soybeans, corn, and wheat — and began feeding our spring chickens. Farmers like us have been doing this for generations. But next year, when we turn to our spring tasks again, the entire farming economy will have shifted under our feet as a result of a merger wave currently underway among the world’s agricultural giants. They Read More …
OCM strongly opposes California’s Assembly Bill 243 (AB 243), authored by Assemblymember Jim Cooper. AB 243 vastly amends the current process in place to manage the state’s mandatory beef checkoff program in ways that weaken California cattle producers’ standing and subjects them to uncapped taxation — for many, potentially without representation. We have joined with a diverse group of stakeholders, to include the farming, environmental, animal welfare, and good food movement communities to oppose this measure. View our joint Read More …
Join us and learn how you can take action to stop the extinction of America’s family farmers and our traditional agricultural practices. Embassy Suites Hotel by Hilton – KCI 7640 NW Tiffany Springs Parkway, Kansas City, MO 64153 Book your room by calling (816) 891-7788. The OCM room block is now full, but rooms may still be available at the hotel. Our Conference Speakers Dinner Speaker Wes Jackson Co-Founder and President Emeritus of The Land Institute Wes Jackson holds Read More …
About We are at a pivotal moment in food and agriculture. Once the Monsanto+Bayer merger goes through, the economics of food, farming, and the environment will be radically altered. It will be impossible to undo. If the $66 billion merger is approved, Monsanto+Bayer will be the world’s largest agribusiness company. Many of the vegetables you eat, key ingredients in our processed foods, the canola oil you use in cooking, and the cotton you wear will all essentially be controlled by one company. For Read More …
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE LINCOLN, NE – In submitting public comments on the USDA’s Grain Inspection, Packers & Stockyards Administration (GIPSA) Fair Practices Rule, the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) urges every farmer, every rancher and every consumer to take the time to do the same. OCM President Mike Weaver said, “With the June 12th deadline looming, it is imperative that everyone act now. It appears USDA is disregarding all comments from previous public comment periods and now will Read More …
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE For more information, contact: Mike Weaver (304) 668-2526 John Hansen (402) 580-8815 Costco Refuses to Discuss Poultry Contracts LINCOLN, NE – As a result of Costco’s Wholesale Corporation CEO W. Craig Jelinek’s failure to accept or respond to an invitation from the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) and Nebraska Farmers Union (NeFU) to sit down and discuss concerns with poultry contract provisions offered to area farmers, OCM and NeFU have issued an open letter to Read More …
Published May 25, 2017 Category: Inside Stories By Kerry Hoffschneider In 1977, the first beef checkoff vote was held, and Dave Wright’s grandfather, Earl Wright, loaded his grandkids up and headed out to make his opinion heard. “We told Grandpa we were not old enough to vote. He told us, ‘You each own a calf, and you can vote.’ He wanted us to vote ‘NO,’ and I remember looking at him and saying, ‘But Grandpa, maybe I want to Read More …