Organization for Competitive Markets

In 1980 there were 62,000 hog farmers in Missouri, today in this country there are 67,000 left. Joe Maxwell discusses the power of BIG Ag and market concentration at the Local Foods Summit, on February 11th 2013, hosted by Mile High Business Alliance. Joe Maxwell a fourth generation Hog Farmer from Missouri and Vice President, Outreach and Engagement for The Humane Society of the United States, Maxwell works directly with…

“Cartels have always been the highest concern of antitrust. They overcharge consumers many billions of dollars every year1 and there is a strong consensus that they should be sanctioned heavily. Yet, until now no one has ever seriously attempted to analyze whether cartel sanctions are at the optimal level. This Article is the first to undertake this formidable task. Surprisingly, it demonstrates that the combined level of U.S. cartel sanctions…

Our adversaries in industrialized agriculture want to frame the animal protection debate in static, black-and-white terms. They want to position all animal advocates as opponents of farming. They want to be judge and jury when it comes to best practices. They pillory animal advocates, and increasingly all consumers and even food retailers, as unfamiliar with the basics, and even the harsh realities, of agriculture. That’s their fictional representation, just like…

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…

For Immediate Release October 19, 2012 Mad Cow, E. coli and abusive market power broker the deal The world witnessed as Cargill and Tyson plundered the Canadian cattle and beef industries after the 2003 Mad Cow debacle. By 2008, there was little meat left on the industries’ bones, so Tyson sold to Nilsson Brothers Inc., an Alberta based cattle dealer, auction house operator, and owner of a 10,000 head per…

For Immediate Release CONTACT: C. Robert Taylor (334) 844-1957 Mike Callicrate (785) 332-8218 October 9, 2012 Lincoln, NE – During the past five years, profit margins by the dominant fertilizer corporations have soared as high as 60 percent even while corporate reports showed substantial excess production capacity, blatant signs of price-fixing and collusive behavior, according to alarms raised by the Organization for Competitive Markets. Despite the red flags, the Federal…

Chris Clayton, DTN Ag Policy Editor | Mon Oct 8, 2012 12:54 PM CDT OMAHA (DTN) — The Mississippi Farm Bureau\board of directors may vote to boot a director off its board because of his role in litigation involving the beef checkoff. Fred Stokes, a 77-year-old retired Army veteran who has run a small cattle operation in Mississippi, has spent much of his time over the past several years raising…

Ag and Trade | Food | By Ben Gotschall | 09/04/2012 The U.S. didn’t lose 91% of its pork producers, 82% of its dairy producers, 42% of its beef producers and 33% of its sheep producers overnight. It has happened by degrees since 1980, during my lifetime, and isn’t going to be slowed down, stopped, or even partially “fixed” in less than a year. In a recent column entitled “Waiting…