Media

Putting Competition Policy at the Top of the Agenda for Rural America

OCM Staff

By Lillian Salerno, former Deputy Undersecretary for Policy for Rural Development, USDA As one of the few rural entrepreneurs who served in the Obama Administration, I was so fortunate to get to spend much of my time with rural small businesses and local farmers implementing the programs Congress authorizes to assist in rural economic development. In this role for 5 years, I worked alongside USDA’s amazing State Directors and field staff implementing and supporting economic development in rural Read More …

Senate Judiciary Committee must carefully assess Delrahim in light of potential agribusiness mergers

OCM Staff

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE May 9, 2017 WASHINGTON, DC – Tomorrow, the Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for Makan Delrahim, President Trump’s nominee for Assistant Attorney General of the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division. The DOJ’s Antitrust Division reviews and makes decisions on corporate mergers, and as an Assistant Attorney General Delrahim will be the ultimate decider on the proposed merger of giant agrichemical companies Monsanto Company and Bayer AG. A coalition of 137 farmer, consumer and environmental Read More …

Exploring the “My” in My Beef Checkoff

OCM Staff

By Vaughn Meyer with Angela Huffman In 1984, U.S. cattle producers voted to establish the Beef Checkoff Program as a means to promote their own product, U.S. beef. From the very beginning the beef checkoff was touted as a producer self-help program financed by all producers through a dollar per head assessment on every animal sold. From the very beginning cattle producers began questioning the underlying motive of their checkoff.  It soon became apparent that importers, retailers and Read More …

NCBA Attempts to Distract from Checkoff Abuse

Fred Stokes

By Fred Stokes Founding member, Organization for Competitive Markets In its recent propaganda piece being circulated in agriculture news outlets, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) tries to draw attention away from the growing outcry for checkoff program reform by making The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) a boogeyman. The truth is, farmers and ranchers want the corrupt, broken program reformed; more than 250,000 of them made their case to Congress earlier this week. Bipartisan legislation is Read More …

Over 250,000 Farmers, Organizations, and Businesses Urge Congress to Pass Meaningful Checkoff Program Reform

OCM Staff

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 27, 2017 Media Contacts: Bill Bullard, 406-252-2516, billbullard@r-calfusa.com Angela Huffman, 614-390-7552, ahuffman@competitivemarkets.com Over 250,000 Farmers, Organizations, and Businesses Urge Congress to Pass Meaningful Checkoff Program Reform WASHINGTON, D.C. – In letters to the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives, more than 80 organizations, representing over 250,000 ranchers, farmers and businesses called on Congress to fix the federal government’s failed commodity checkoff tax programs by supporting recently introduced legislation that, when passed, will bring much Read More …

Former GIPSA Head Debunks NCBA’s Lies About Premium Payments

OCM Staff

By Dudley Butler, former GIPSA administrator I was an active member of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) for many years. I quit NCBA because its leaders began to lie to its grassroots membership and I could not stomach it any longer. Today’s NCBA leaders continue this untruthful behavior. These leaders are like Judas goats leading their members to the slaughterhouse of vertical integration. The current lies being told by NCBA leaders involve the recent interim final rule Read More …

Where’s the Beef in President Trump’s ‘Buy American’?

OCM Staff

Yesterday, President Trump issued an executive order pushing for a renewed effort to buy American manufacturing products and restore jobs for American working men and women. The Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) applauds the president’s initiative, but unfortunately, those who want to purchase U.S. beef and pork are unable to identify it due to the repeal of Country of Origin Labeling. While American consumers have a fundamental right to know where other products are made or processed and Read More …

POLITICO | The Next GIPSA Question

OCM Staff

POLITICO Morning Agriculture A daily briefing on agriculture and food policy By JASON HUFFMAN 04/12/17 10:00 AM EDT With help from Jenny Hopkinson and Eric Wolff THE NEXT GIPSA QUESTION: Now that the USDA has agreed to again push back the effective date of its controversial Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administration’s interim final rule, the next action to watch is how commenters respond to the question asked on a new proposed rule, Colin Woodall, the National Cattlemen’s Read More …