The untold story of how the administration tried to stand up to big agricultural companies on behalf of independent farmers, and lost. By Lina Khan | Print (PDF) In May 2010, Garry Staples left his chicken farm in Steele, Alabama, to take part in a historic hearing in Normal, an hour and a half away. The decision to go wasn’t easy. The big processing companies that farmers rely on for their livelihood had made it known that even Read More …
PRESS RELEASE Organization for Competitive Markets P.O. Box 6486 Lincoln, NE 68506 www.competitivemarkets.com Contact: Fred Stokes 662 476 5568, cell 601 527 2459 tfredstokes@hughes.net August 6, 2012 KANSAS CITY, MO. — This week’s annual convention of the Organization for Competitive Markets will start out with a bang, as a bold new strategy to combat misuse of commodity check-off programs is unveiled at a pre-convention press conference Thursday afternoon. “We will be making a very important announcement regarding how Read More …
Mike Callicrate, OCM Vice President, Presentation Part 1 of 2 at the Colorado Independent CattleGrowers Association’s 7th Annual Convention held 2012 July 13th — 15th in Lasalle, CO. View All Presentations Also presenting: Bill Bullard, R-CALF USA CEO David Wright, ICON President & Beef Board Member of Nebraska
by David Andrews In 2008 the Federal Farm Bill instructed the Department of Agriculture to write rules for competition in the meat industry. This directive was to complete the details lacking in the 80-plus-year-old legislation on competition in the meat industry from the Theodore Roosevelt era. That legislation was to be enhanced with detailed directions on contracts, anti-trust policies and mandates requiring greater justice in meat production, processing and distribution. The rules were to be developed by a Read More …
Thomas F. “Fred” Stokes President On January 26th, J. Dudley Butler resigned his position as the livestock industry’s top cop. It was a sad day for independent livestock producers and poultry growers. There was lots of excitement and enthusiasm as the Obama Administration’s Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Justice (DOJ) forged an historic joint effort to deal with the long-neglected concentration and market power abuse in agriculture. But after some three years and five workshops which Read More …
Updated: Wednesday, February 08, 2012 11:42 AM By MATEUSZ PERKOWSKI Capital Press Ranchers risk losing their independence unless they keep pressing for stronger oversight of meat packers, according to a former USDA official who recently resigned after losing a battle over livestock industry reforms. Cattle producers are subject to the same forces as the packer-dominated hog and chicken industries, said Dudley Butler, who left his post as chief of the agency’s Grain Inspection Packers and Stockyards Administration in Read More …
big_lie_about_gipsa_rules_exposed Press Release announcing posting of video proof of Dudley Butler’s actual statements regarding the GIPSA rule.
ocmgipsanew Many political organizations closely affiliated with major beef, pork and poultry integrators attacked J. Dudley Butler, administrator of the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s GIPSA for his attempts to update GIPSA regulations of meatpackers. David Domina, general counsel for the Organization for Competitive Markets, notes the packer-friendly gropus have these accusations backwards. Download the complete press release above: