OCM Calls for Department of Justice to Halt JBS Purchase of Mountain States Cooperative

Click Here to Read OCM’s Letter to DOJ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 31, 2020   Media Contact: Ben Gotschall bgotschall@competitivemarkets.com 402-540-1342   OCM Calls for Department of Justice to Halt JBS Purchase Ag Group cites possible antitrust violations and calls for investigation LINCOLN, NE: Today the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) sent a letter to Assistant Attorney General Makan Delrahim of the Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), calling for the DOJ to stop the Read More …

BREAKING: Department of Justice Files Amicus Brief in Dairy Farmers of America Lawsuit

On July 27th, 2020, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) filed an amicus brief in a lawsuit against Dairy Farmers of America, the United States’ largest dairy cooperative. The lawsuit, filed in Vermont U.S. District Court, alleges that DFA and other cooperatives agreed not to compete for each other’s farmer-members, conspired to share payment information in order to discourage competition and depress prices, and maintained those low prices market-wide by entering into supply agreements with Dean Foods Read More …

WNAX | OCM Wants Regulators To Disallow DFA Acquisition Of Majority Of Dean Foods

Dean Foods officials have announced that Dairy Farmers of America is the winning bidder to acquire 44 of their fluid and frozen facilities for $433 million. Organization For Competitive Markets Director of Policy and Research Ben Gotschall says that’s a huge concentration concern and that that deal still must be approved before it goes through. He says it’s important to note that the U.S. Justice Department is investigating any possible anti-trust concerns with this acquisition. Gotschall says antitrust Read More …

WNAX | OCM Calling For Revision Of DOJ And FTC Vertical Merger Guidelines

The Organization for Competitive Markets has filed comments with the U.S. Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission on their Vertical Merger Guidelines. OCM Director of Policy and Research Ben Gotschall says those guidelines haven’t been revised since 1982 and have several shortcomings that need fixing. He says the current guidelines don’t give enough protection to consumers, or farmers and ranchers and need to be thrown out and replaced. Gotschall says there’s also a comment period going on now Read More …

Monsanto’s growing monopoly

What the Supreme Court got wrong: Patents on self-replicating seed are unethical, dangerous and anti-competitive By Kristina Hubbard A still from a Monsanto ad When the Supreme Court unanimously sided with Monsanto recently, it upheld the company’s right to prohibit the replanting of patented seed – handing the biotech giant a major victory. The court ruled that the doctrine of “patent exhaustion,” which an Indiana farmer argued should apply after the first sale of patented seed, “does not Read More …