Organization for Competitive Markets

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…

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…

big_lie_about_gipsa_rules_exposed Press Release announcing posting of video proof of Dudley Butler’s actual statements regarding the GIPSA rule.

incentivepdf The dominant captive supply arrangement is a marketing agreement with a base price tied to the residual cash market price. Such agreements distort buyer incentives. This is basic Econ 101! These distorted incentives are apparent in the following statement made by a fed cattle buyer to Randy Stevenson:

ocmbriefingpaper The July 1, 2010 issue of Beef Magazine contains an article titled “GIPSA Signals End to Value-Based Marketing” by Contributing Editor Troy Marshall. He asserts that the proposed GIPSA Rules “(is) a complete rejection of value-based marketing and differentiation and legislates us back to a commodity marketplace where everyone must receive the same price.” OCM disagrees with this statement and addresses it in the following briefing paper:

taylorgipsa OCM has a strong stand concerning the newly proposed GIPSA rules. Please read the documents below concerning the proposed changes.

dominareportversion2 Restoring Economic Health to Contract Poultry Production C. Rober Taylor and David A. Domina recently addressed the Poultry workshop regarding market power in the industry, the state of poultry production and market concentration among other areas of interest within the poultry industry. Download the full report below for more information and statistics that were discussed during Friday’s presentation.

poultryrule Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture Grain Inspection and Packers and Stockyards Administration (USDA GIPSA) released its final rule regarding contracts between poultry integrators and growers. OCM sees this rule as a significant and badly needed step forward in reforming an industry that has a history of subjugating and otherwise dealing unjustly with contract poultry growers. The rule, which is available for download below, contains four important provisions: 1….