Tag: concentration

High Plains Journal | COVID-19 exposing stress points in meat supply system

OCM Staff

by David Murray Source: High Plains Journal Date Published: May 24, 2020 As the COVID-19 crisis grinds on, it is exposing serious stress points in the nation’s delicately balanced meat supply system. Decades of consolidation and centralization in the meat processing industry have created a system precisely attuned to serve the exact mix of retail and wholesale meat customers that existed prior to the virus. Improved logistics and data management techniques have helped the system operate in as Read More …

Red River Farm Network | OCM Seeks to Breakup Big Four Meatpackers

OCM Staff

Source: Red River Farm Network Published May 4, 2020 The Organization for Competitive Markets is calling for the breakup of the “big four” meat packing companies. Together, Cargill, JBS, National Beef and Tyson process 85 percent of the U.S. beef supply. In a statement, Organization Interim Executive Director Ben Gotschall said the COVID-19 pandemic has “shown the biggest links in the food supply chain are the weakest.” Beyond this action, the association is also asking for mandatory Country Read More …

Advocates Take to Social Media to #BreakUpBigAg

OCM Staff

Between Monday, June 10th and Friday, June 14th the Organization for Competitive Markets led a social media campaign called #BreakUpBigAg to support the Agribusiness Merger Moratorium Act. Organizations and individual advocates published their pictures along with statements in support of the moratorium on Facebook and Twitter. In their pictures, participants were holding posters with facts about consolidation in our farm and food systems. These facts included: “1950s: farmers received 50% of the food dollar. Today: farmers receive 14.8% of Read More …

President Trump Should Say No to Brazil’s Beef Import Deal

OCM Staff

“With this acquisition, we become the largest beef company in the world.” With these words, JBS President Joesley Batista set in motion what today has become an invasion of the U.S. beef market by Brazilian corporations. Batista uttered these words in 2007 during JBS S.A.’s announcement that it had just purchased the U.S.’s third largest beef processor, Swift Food Company. A year later, JBS seized on the opportunity to expand its U.S. acquisitions and purchased Smithfield Beef Group, Read More …

Occupy Langdon: We Are Less Than One Percent

Mike Callicrate

by Richard Oswald The Occupy Wall Street Movement has been called “a potent political and cultural conversation”. On the other hand Occupy movements in cities like Washington DC have been called over reported and under attended. That is definitely not the case here because Occupy Langdon has been completely off the radar screen, totally undiscussed, and one hundred percent unreported. Until now. I’m breaking this thing wide open. Here around Langdon and all across the USA, less than Read More …

Free Clothes

Mike Callicrate

by Richard Oswald The worst thing about being a farmer is free clothes. Let me explain; In the city awhile back I shopped around for new car deals. I was just looking when up walked a salesperson. When her eyes locked on my corporate logo I received an unsolicited offer right there in the showroom. “Would you like to know more about the fleet discount?” she asked seductively. Being a city gal, she didn’t realize I was only Read More …

The Changing Structure of American Agriculture: Will the Family Farm Survive?

Mike Callicrate

OCM is now interning its thirteenth year as an advocate for open, transparent, fair and competitive markets. I offer this somewhat lengthy manuscript to show our early vision and mission and that we have remained true to these precepts over the years. Thomas F. “Fred” Stokes, Executive Director Summerville, Tennessee, March 16, 2000 I’m Fred Stokes from Porterville, Mississippi, a little withering rural community some two hundred miles south of here. I want to thank Don Dowdel and Read More …