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“The money and political power of Wall Street has stolen America’s food system, bankrupted our farmers and ranchers, mined our soils, polluted our environment, wasted our precious water, and left us with expensive industrially produced food that makes us sick.” – Occupy Wall Street Food Day, December 2011 -
Industrial Agriculture and Urban Sprawl – A model of growth that’s made to fail. -
Ranching Reboot Episode 4, Mike Callicrate “It’s time for a third revolution against monopolies”
Above: Ranching Reboot – Episode 4 – Mike Callicrate, owner of Ranch Foods Direct, sat down with us to talk about all manner of things from cattle markets, to public food spaces, the Bander, his feedlot and the pathway he built to market.
He shares valuable lessons learned from fighting against the commodity production system and how he’s built his own pathway to the consumer.
We talk about small community slaughter plants and public meat spaces and what that could look like going in to the future. We discuss environmental challenges, the food police and what it means when a Dollar General comes to town.
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- This Cattleman's Got A Beef
Photo: Sean Cayton - 2003People producing good food from happy animals, while improving the environment, shouldn’t have to fear the government.
Photo above featured in a 2003 article: This cattleman's got a beef, Mike Callicrate and Ranch Foods Direct take on the big meat packersby Kathryn Eastburn
Tag Archives: Tom Vilsack
Area dairy farms shut down as milk prices slide
By Joe Mahoney CNHI State Reporter FileA cow is seen at Hemlock Valley Farm in Milford in this June 2014 photo ALBANY — Tim Tucek, a Chenango County dairy farmer, said it was a decision he couldn’t avoid given his … Continue reading
Ranchers take on the beef industry over mandatory checkoff payments
By MIKE McGRAW and PEGGY LOWE | Harvest Public Media NEMAHA COUNTY, Kan. – From their small farms set in the rolling hills of northeast Kansas, two ranchers are raising a few cattle — and a lot of Cain. David … Continue reading
Obama’s Game of Chicken
The untold story of how the administration tried to stand up to big agricultural companies on behalf of independent farmers, and lost. By Lina Khan | Print (PDF) In May 2010, Garry Staples left his chicken farm in Steele, Alabama, … Continue reading
R-CALF USA Demands Suspension of Contracts Between NCBA and Beef Checkoff
August 28, 2012 The Honorable Tom Vilsack Secretary of Agriculture U.S. Department of Agriculture 1400 Independence Ave., S.W. Washington, D.C. 20250 Sent via facsimile and U.S. Mail: 202-720-6314 Re: R-CALF USA’s Demand for the Immediate and Permanent Suspension of all … Continue reading
R-CALF USA Summary of Beef Checkoff Lawsuit
Summary of Beef Checkoff Lawsuit Mike Callicrate v. USDA et al. Prepared by R-CALF USA Revised August 23, 2012 THE PARTIES: Mike Callicrate is the only Plaintiff in the complaint. Named Defendants in the complaint include: U.S. Department of Agriculture … Continue reading
