For Immediate Release February 5, 2016 john Contact: John Hansen 402-476-8815 Nebraska Legislature Votes For Chickenization of Nebraska Hog Production LINCOLN (February 5, 2016) – Nebraska Farmers Union (NeFU) said that Legislature’s 34-14 support for LB176 on final reading was consistent with the history of most corporate farming issues in the Nebraska Legislature over the…

February 6, 2016 Pork packer bill passes as lawmakers vote to shed state’s unique ban BY ZACH PLUHACEK | LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR Nebraska will shed its unique ban on meatpacking corporations owning hogs following a contentious vote Friday in the Legislature. Supporters of a measure to eliminate the ban (LB176), sponsored by state Sen. Ken…

Meatpackers Struggled to Sell Import-Labeled Beef From Daily Report for Executives By Llewellyn Hinkes-Jones Feb. 2 — The cost of implementing country-of-origin meat labeling was not necessarily responsible for widespread discounting of imported cattle that forced lower prices on sellers, according to findings of a 2009 Agriculture Department investigation obtained by Bloomberg BNA. Contrary to…

TPP signing represents corporate wish list; farmers, consumers and the environment lose Opposition grows as trade deal faces uphill battle in Congress By Karen Hansen-Kuhn Ben Lilliston Published February 3, 2016 TradeTPPFree trade agreements Download this document Minneapolis/Washington D.C. – The controversial Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) was signed today in New Zealand, as opposition to…

R-CALF USA Responds to Dubious TPP Testimony and NCBA Jabs Billings, Mont. – During a formal hearing held recently by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), representatives of the world’s largest multinational meatpackers praised the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement. Hearing witnesses representing U.S. livestock and meat industries included R-CALF USA, National Cattlemen’s…

Thursday, February 4, 2016 Social Issues Baptist group urges Tyson Foods to address water quality As part of a commitment to socially responsible investing, American Baptist Home Mission Societies will present a shareholder resolution at the 2016 Tyson Foods annual shareholders meeting tomorrow in Springdale, Ark. By Bob Allen Shareholders of Tyson Foods will vote…

Final Thoughts on LB176 From Five Nebraska Farm and Rural Organization Leaders A shared view: It is their shared view that LB176 will damage the functioning of the hog market, turn hog producers into economic serfs on their own farms, and will undermine the remaining beef packer ban and make it more vulnerable to legal…

NEWS RELEASE February 1, 2016 Corporate Farming Bill Threatens Nebraska’s Family Farms HAPPY PIGS ON A FAMILY FARM. If pigs could vote, they would say NO to LB176 and Smithfield’s factory farms The Organization for Competitive Markets is calling on farmers, ranchers and consumers across Nebraska to strongly oppose a bill in the state legislature…

Lincoln Journal Star January 31, 2016 Farmers divided on bill to let packers own pigs BY NICHOLAS BERGIN | LINCOLN JOURNAL STAR A legislative bill with the potential to trigger a seismic shift in the state’s hog industry has divided pig farmers in Nebraska, the last state clinging to a ban on meatpackers owning swine…