OCM Files Demand for Inspector General Records

PRESS RELEASE Organization for Competitive Markets P.O. Box 6486 Lincoln, NE 68506 www.competitivemarkets.com Contact: Mike Callicrate, OCM President 785-332-8128 callicrate@competitivemarkets.com April 11, 2013 Group Wants Answers to Questionable Audit Report The Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) announced today a series of actions in furtherance of its efforts to bring transparency and integrity to the beef checkoff program. OCM has submitted a Freedom of Information Act demand for records relating to…
Read more...Tags:Beef Checkoff , Mike Callicrate , NCBA , Office of Inspector General , OIG , USDA
From Berkeley to Boston: Coming Together Around Freedom, Fairness and Food

By Mike Callicrate & Fred Stokes Eating is one thing we all have in common. And, to millions of us, what we eat, how it’s produced, and where it comes from is important. OCM has worked for the last fourteen years to restore competition in the agricultural marketplace. We believe family farmers and ranchers make the best stewards of our land and livestock, and are the most reliable and trustworthy…
Read more...Tags:Beef Checkoff , big food , big packers , chickenization , Coalition for a Prosperous America , Fred Stokes , GIPSA , HSUS , Humane Society of the United States , IBP , John Dittrich , Mike Callicrate , Mississippi Farm Bureau , National Cattlemen's Beef Association , NCBA , Polsinelli Shughart , The Beef Checkoff Reform Taskforce , U.S. Farmers and Ranchers Alliance , USDA , USFRA
“They (BIG Ag) suck the wealth from our rural communities”

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…
Read more...Tags:Big Ag , Captive Contracts , Cargill , Denver , Family Farms , HSUS , Joe Maxwell , Local Food Summit , Local Food Systems , market concentration , Mike Callicrate , Mile High Business Alliance , Organization for Competitive Markets , Smithfield , Sustainable Agriculture , The Humane Society of the United States , Tyson , Wealth Extraction
Federal Trade Commission Turns Deaf Ear to OCM Calls for Investigation of Global Fertilizer Cartel

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…
Read more...Tags:Agrium , American Antitrust Institute , C. Robert Taylor , Canpotex , Federal Trade Commission , fertilizer , Mike Callicrate , PhosChem , Webb-Pomerene Act
Checkoff Spat Sparks Pushback: OCM Director May Lose Seat on State Farm Bureau Board

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…
Read more...Tags:Beef Checkoff , Fred Stokes , HSUS , Humane Society of the United States , meatpackers , Mike Callicrate , Mississippi Farm Bureau , National Cattlemen's Beef Association , USDA , Vilsack
Allies of competitive markets to gather in Kansas City

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…
Read more...Colorado Independent CattleGrowers Association’s 7th Annual Convention 2012

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
Read more...Tags:Bill Bullard , David Wright , Dudley Butler , John Munsell , Mike Callicrate , R-CALF
Rewired, Revamped and Renewed!- OCM Updates Website & More

Anita Poole-Endsley Executive Director Technology is a wonderful thing, and has made communication to the masses possible faster and easier than ever before. OCM offers its thanks to Eryn Taylor and Mike Callicrate for their time, energy and expertise in reworking OCM’s website, www.competitivemarkets.com. The new site has much more capacity to allow our organization to publish news, information, photos and videos. It will be much faster to download articles…
Read more...Tags:Anita Poole-Endsley , donations , Eryn Taylor , Facebook , Mike Callicrate , OCM , website







