Farmers Union launches competition group but expects fight

The National Farmers Union announced Wednesday it has launched Fairness for Farmers, a campaign to rally Americans to urge their congressional leaders and the Biden administration to take concrete steps to curtail consolidation in agriculture.

NFU President Rob Larew, Montana Farmers Union President Walter Schweitzer, and Minnesota Farmers Union President Gary Wertish were joined by Sen. John Tester, D-Minn., and Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, a Democrat, at a news conference Wednesday to announce the effort.

“We launched Fairness for Farmers because we have a president who is committed to taking on the challenge of fighting consolidation in agriculture. We are all buoyed by President Joe Biden’s Executive Order on ‘Promoting Competition in the Marketplace’ – a commitment from his administration to restore fairness to our economy,” Larew said in a news release.

Larew said Fairness for Farmers “seeks to engage farmers and ranchers to fight for an economy that rewards hard work and ensures fair agricultural markets by:

▪ Encouraging farmers and ranchers to share videos of their stories online.

▪ Advertising campaigns, both digital and radio.

▪ Working with NFU members across the nation to engage local media.

▪ Building national coalitions to support lawmakers and regulators in the anti-trust space to fight for strengthening our pro-competition laws and regulations.

▪ Educating lawmakers, the media and the American people about our broken food system that allows monopolies to cheat farmers and ranchers, and charge consumers higher prices at the grocery store.”

But Larew added: “I do believe we are in for a fight. The giants who dominate our food and agriculture industry are not going to be toppled without a struggle. But Farmers Union members, and everyone who joined me today, are not afraid of a fight and are ready to stand up for fairness.”

–National Farmers Union