By Sherri Dugger, opinion contributor | 03/20/18 There are nearly 2 million small family farms in America, but that’s not where most of our food comes from. Just 7 percent of all farms produce 80 percent of the food in the country, and they’re nothing like the idyllic farms you see pictured on food labels….
by Nathan Rosenberg and Clay H. East | March 20th, 2018 We’ve all read many stories about the surge of minority, female, and young farmers leaving their desk jobs to work in the fields. Trouble is, that’s not really happening. On the day after Thanksgiving of 2017, the Washington Post ran a front-page story on…
By Corey Kilgannon, Photographs by Kholood Eid | March 19, 2018 EATON, N.Y. — Fred Morgan was already deep in debt from rebuilding his milking barn after a fire when milk prices plunged in 2015, setting off an economic drought that is now entering its fourth year — the worst in recent memory for dairy…
WASHINGTON POST The politicians screaming about a trade war are beholden to Wall Street By Richard Trumka March 19 at 3:12 PM Richard Trumka is president of the AFL-CIO. Wall Street’s hair is on fire about steel and aluminum tariffs imposed by President Trump, because closing mills and factories in the United States and moving…
By Whitney Belprez | March 15, 2018 Last week while on our monthly grocery trip, we were shocked to see that milk was selling for $1.50 a gallon at ALDI in Big Rapids. $1.50. “Limit five,” the sign said. Clearly, most shoppers’ reaction to these prices was to say “wow, $1.50!” and to then stock…
By Michelle Chen | March 28, 2016 When maximizing profits isn’t the only goal, companies can actually work better. Imagine an economy without bosses. It’s not a utopian vision but a growing daily reality for many enterprises. A close analysis of the performance of worker-owned cooperative firms—companies in which workers share in management and ownership—shows…
By Sue Lani Madsen rulingpen@gmail.com | March 17, 2018 Beef. It’s what’s for dinner. Or so goes the slogan of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. But the NCBA is not a plaintiff in a suit attempting to restore country of origin labeling for beef. Leading the lawsuit, which aims to support free trade and protect…
from NoBull.MikeCallicrate.com | March 18, 2018 Must Collectively Own the Machines We quote from a statement made by J. G. Stokes, the young millionaire, who for several years has been devoting his talent and means to advance the interest of the industrial and producing class. In his statement he said: “It has required a vast…
Link to policy brief: http://competitivemarkets.com/policy-brief-state-series-consolidation-and-the-american-family-farm-north-dakota/ Link to press release: http://competitivemarkets.com/new-report-details-challenges-facing-north-dakota-family-farmers/ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 16, 2018 Media Contacts: Chelsea Davis, 573-808-3553, chelsea Angela Huffman, 614-390-7552, ahuffman New Report Details Challenges Facing North Dakota Family Farmers Grand Forks ND – Today, in a joint briefing with Family Farm Action, the Organization for Competitive Markets (OCM) released…
Dear Mike, Last week, we shared your concerns about the Bayer-Monsanto mega-merger with officials at the U.S. Department of Justice. You responded to our survey (results copied below), and overwhelmingly shared the opinion that a Bayer-Monsanto merger would be devastating to family farmers. TODAY, news broke that Department of Justice insiders are expressing concerns about…