Washington, D.C. — Almost every step of America’s food supply chain has grown more concentrated in the past few decades, and growing corporate power has left relatively small farms and ranches vulnerable to exploitation at the hands of the oligopolies with which they do business. Recent mergers and acquisitions continue the relentless trend toward increasing corporate concentration across many agricultural markets. With 1 in 5 rural counties dependent on farming, rural America cannot afford depressed farm earnings.
On Tuesday, May 7, at 12:00 p.m. EST/11:00 a.m. CST, experts from the Center for American Progress will join Joe Maxwell, executive director of the Organization for Competitive Markets, and J.D. Scholten, a fifth-generation Iowan and rural advocate, to discuss a new CAP report that examines the impacts that corporate concentration and the subsequent decline in competition in agricultural input and commodity markets have had on farm families and their communities.
CAP, Maxwell, and Scholten will also call on policymakers to pursue policies that aim to increase competition; empower farmers to secure their fair share; and protect farmers from an array of unfair, deceptive, and abusive practices in these markets.
WHAT:
Press call with family farmer, rancher, and rural advocates to discuss corporate concentration in agriculture
WHO:
Andy Green, Managing Director of Economic Policy, Center for American Progress
J.D. Scholten, fifth-generation Iowan and rural advocate
Joe Maxwell, Executive Director, Organization for Competitive Markets; former Lieutenant Governor of Missouri
Zoe Willingham, Research Assistant for Economic Policy, Center for American Progress
WHEN:
Tuesday, May 7, 2019, at 12:00 p.m. EST/11:00 a.m. CST
DIAL-IN INFORMATION:
Contact Allison Preiss at [email protected] to receive an embargoed copy of the CAP report and/or dial-in information.