by Christopher Leonard / February 15, 2017 Inside Agri Stats, the poultry business’s secretive info-sharing service. On Dec. 8, 2009, Joe Sanderson, the chief executive officer of Sanderson Farms, held a routine earnings call with bank analysts. His aim was to reassure them that the company’s recent profits weren’t about to disappear, as the chicken…
Feb 14, 2017 They’re concerned about risk to economy and environment. Nearly 325 advocacy groups have signed a letter urging the U.S. Department of Justice to conduct a thorough investigation into the proposed mergers of the Dow Chemical with DuPont, Monsanto with Bayer AG and Syngenta with ChemChina. The groups urged Attorney General Jeff Sessions…
With Big Ag Giveaways In the Works, Sessions Urged to Reject Mega-Mergers Proposed mergers like those between Dow Chemical and DuPont or Monsanto and Bayer AG ‘only put more power and influence on the side of agribusiness’ By Deirdre Fulton, staff writer 0 Comments "A Bayer AG-Monsanto company would control 70 percent of the Southeast…
by Tom Philpott Feb. 9, 2017 So says the former Obama USDA appointee who helped create national organic standards. The Freedom Caucus is a rowdy band of GOP US House members most famous for triggering government shutdowns, pushing to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and driving former GOP Speaker John Boehner from his post on…
By Cole Epley / World-Herald staff writer Feb 12, 2017 Chad Korth was extracting himself from underneath his pickup late Tuesday morning at the same time the U.S. Department of Agriculture was preparing to issue its lowest forecast for net farm income in 15 years. The timing was coincidental, but the implications of the lifelong…
Why America Pays 50% More for Chicken The $29 billion poultry industry has been accused of hatching a plan to limit production. by Deena Shanker September 28, 2016, 4:00 AM MDT What do you call it when would-be competitors embark on a unified strategy to limit supply, drive up prices, and bilk customers of their…
There is a Solution Posted on February 11, 2017 by Gilles Stockton Grass Range, Montana January, 2017 By now, the disaster that is the cattle market has been factored into the coming year’s budget. For some it means the end of a dream to own a ranch, for the remaining it means a hard assessment…
Lincoln Journal Star Feb 9, 2017 Farmers, who don’ t need any more bad news, got a double dose this week. On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture predicted that net farm income nationally will drop to $62.3 billion this year, down nearly 9 percent from last year. If that prediction proves accurate, it will…
Tom Philpott Dec. 8, 2016 One major advocate just took over the EPA; another will handle relations with China. During the campaign, President-elect Donald Trump’s agriculture advisers had a tough row to hoe: They had to assure farm state Republicans that Trump’s constant tirades against trade wouldn’t hurt a farm economy that relies increasingly on…
By Joe Wertz & Harvest Public Media Federal authorities are investigating the alleged embezzlement of $2.6 million dollars from an obscure Oklahoma board that promotes the beef industry. The investigation and related lawsuits add to questions about oversight of a national program funded by fees charged to ordinary farmers and ranchers. To listen: click here….