The Company Store: The Corporate Takeover of Agriculture
News concerning mergers and monopolies frighten and anger independent farmers, but their "family farmer advocate" may not be the place to turn for help. Often, it's the same corporate agribusiness that sells them seed, chemicals, fuel, and technical advice. Being a family farmer advocate and a player in the competitive agribusiness industry are not always compatible.
Illinois Farm Bureau's policies benefit big business
• Some Illinois Farm Bureau policies, published in yearly "Policy
Resolutions" and carried to Washington and Springfield by Farm
Bureau lobbyists, may seem to be motivated by corporate interests
over family farmers and have detrimental consequences for the
environment. Among them are the following from the 1999 Farm Bureau
Policy Resolutions:
• "We oppose any attempt to mandate low-input methods of farming"
(Section 22). Low-input means low sales of agricultural chemicals,
including fertilizer, and fuel oil. Farmers would reduce overhead
costs, water quality would improve, and Illinois Farm Bureau profits
would suffer.
• "Legislation, regulations, and programs dealing with sources of potential agricultural pollution should recognize economic benefits posed by production or use of potential pollutants" (Section 16). Illinois Farm Bureau produces, sells and profits from pollutants that impair our rivers and our drinking water.
• Illinois Farm Bureau advocates increasing the number of fuel oil tanks per farm so that one farmer could "receive a transport load of each specific fuel" (Section 15). This would result in higher sales, decreased handling and transportation costs for Growmark and Farm Services -- and an increased risk of oil spills and stormwater contamination.
• Illinois Farm Bureau supports: restricted use of pesticide recordkeeping, and congress providing a delay in the Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) implementation" (Section 33). Recordkeeping encourages less chemical use, and, therefore, lower amounts of pollutants in Illinois waters
Remember who owns the store. Illinois Farm Bureau's interests
in corporate ownership
Illinois Farm Bureau has a great deal of power, both politically
and in the marketplace. The Farm Bureau is an active participant
in the concentration of the agricultural business community. As
the Illinois Farm Bureau advocates agricultural issues, one should
remember that they are not simply an organization of farmers.
Illinois Farm Bureau is also an organization of agricultural corporations.
• Illinois Farm Bureau has ownership in at least 18 separate corporations that sell, market, or produce agricultural chemicals, fuel and oil refining and distribution, seed and feed, livestock production, dairy, accounting, commodities, insurance, mutual funds, financial trusts, lawn and garden chemicals, and communications.
• A list of Illinois Farm Bureau's major holdings and ownership has been provided with this packet. Some corporations included in these holdings are:
Country Companies Insurance
Growmark, Inc.
Farm Services (FS)
Prairie Farms Dairy
• Growmark alone is a behemoth in the Midwest. In addition to selling seed, feed, and agricultural chemicals-including fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides, lawn and garden chemicals - the corporation refines and distributes fuel oil and other production supplies and services. Some facts about Growmark, Inc., from its website:
1998 sales: $1 billion.
Net income: $300 million.
Assets: $65 million.
Growmark also purchases 1 billion bushels of grain annually, making Growmark the largest grain cooperative in the Midwest.
• ADM/Growmark, a partnership with Archer Daniels Midland, markets grain in domestic and oversees markets. According to Feedstuffs, "The Growmark and Countrymark joint ventures . . . give ADM access to 50 percent of the corn and soybean market region and 75 percent of Canada's corn and soybean market region."
• In the U.S. more than 450 million gallons of petroleum products are delivered each year. On average, a semi truck of petroleum is delivered by Growmark every 10 seconds.
Where else can a farmer shop? Effects of consolidation in agriculture
• Dr. William Heffernan, a rural sociologist at the University
of Missouri, recently published a report finding that a small
number of firms own and control U.S. food production, squeezing
out small farmers, and "threatening America's system of independent
family farms and ranches."
• The consolidations give the large companies a market advantage and power to pay farmers less for commodities. Agrinews reported in January of 1999 that the top four firms in grain marketing and processing control 59 percent of port facilities, 62 percent of flour milling, 74 percent of wet corn milling and 76 percent of soybean crushing.
• Steve Barwick, vice president of corporate marketing and operations for Illinois Farm Bureau's Growmark, Inc. declared, in an interview reported in Agrinews, "in every industry, the most efficient are the survivors. A lot has to come in production and that means fewer people producing more" (Agrinews 1/22/99).
• At a meeting with federal anti-trust officials one farmer remarked, "while the Justice Department is suing computer software companies for anti-trust [violations] American farmers are being crushed by market-manipulating global corporations."
How to contact Prairie Rivers Network:
Phone: 217-344-2371
Fax: 217-344-2381
Web: http://prairierivers.org
E-mail: info@prairierivers.org
Mail: 809 South Fifth Street, Champaign, IL 61820
