Securing America’s Food and Farm System

A Roadmap for the Trump-Vance Administration For too long, dominant corporations have abused their power to steal farmers’ livelihoods and put once-thriving rural communities in decline — but it’s not just rural communities that are suffering under the thumb of the largest corporations in our food and agriculture system. Consumers and their families are paying…



Not a Landslide but Vote of No-Confidence!

November 16, 2024 By John Ikerd The election was not a landslide victory for Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans but it was a “no-confidence vote” for Democrats and mainstream Republicans. It was also the end of democracy in America as we have known it but not the end of democracy in America as a political…



Alan Guebert: Donald Trump’s second act

Farm and Food File for the week beginning Sunday, Nov. 17, 2024 By Alan Guebert Every pre-election poll for the U.S. presidential race saw it as a too-close-to-call nail biter. Not one predicted the sweeping victory posted by former, now President-Elect Donald J. Trump. How did all miss the coming rout? And rout it was….



Better Markets … a financial system that too often fails to support the real productive economy and is too often focused on wealth extraction rather than wealth creation.

Hi Mike,As the dust settles from the 2024 election, one thing is clear: the economy isn’t working for the vast majority of Americans, too many of whom continue to struggle to make ends meet. One of the key reasons for that is a financial system that too often fails to support the real productive economy…



Lancaster Farming: Who Will Lead Trump’s USDA?

Who Will Lead Trump’s USDA? Tom Venesky, tvenesky@lancasterfarming.com Douglas Rissing Donald Trump has been selecting Cabinet appointees for his second term, but as of press time, ag secretary was not one of them. Rep. Glenn Thompson, R-Pa., is among the people being considered to lead USDA, according to Politico. Thompson chairs the House Agriculture Committee…



It’s Up to Cattle Producers to Decide

November 13, 2024 Op-Ed by Gilles Stockton, Montana Cattlemen’s Association Director  As long as cattle producers’ demands for the restoration of honest price discovery in the fed cattle market was still just that, a demand, we did not need to come to a consensus about how this could actually be accomplished. In an advanced notice…



Trump and Monopoly Power — A Note from Barry Lynn

Welcome to The Corner. In this issue, we look at the lessons of the U.S. presidential election, and some next steps. We also explore how the EU’s AI strategy might concentrate even more power in the hands of Big Tech. ​ Trump and Monopoly Power — A Note from Barry Lynn ​ Dear Friends, President…



FERN: Time to bust the meat trust

Time to bust the meat trust Grocery shopping in Rosemead, California on April 21, 2022. U.S. inflation reached a four-decade high of 8.5 percent that March and prices continued to rise for staples like meat, bread, and milk. Photo by Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty. Images. By Ted Genoways, October 23, 2024 This article was…



How Deb Fischer Delivered for Big Ag – The American Prospect

It is a long and complex saga, difficult to understand is an understatement, for those that have not been engaged with food and agriculture issues over many years, but let it suffice to say that when a member of Congress who is voted into office on the strength of their commitment to family/small/local farming and…



Brazil Fines Meatpacking Companies, Including Giant JBS, for Buying Illegally Raised Cattle

Brazil Fines Meatpacking Companies, Including Giant JBS, for Buying Illegally Raised Cattle Agents also apprehended 8,854 head of cattle found inside the restricted areas PUBLISHED ON October 29, 2024 The JBS fine was $108,000 for purchasing 1,231 head of cattle, the fifth largest penalty among the fined companies. (Stock photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash)…