Organization for Competitive Markets / News Release / April 11, 2000 / Contact: T. Fred Stokes - (662) 476-5568
In the wake of a revealing expose on the American Farm Bureau Federation by the television news magazine "60 Minutes", the Organization for Competitive Markets called upon Farm Bureau to return to its mission of helping farmers and ranchers. Mike Wallace of "60 Minutes" revealed that the American Farm Bureau Federation is a multi-billion dollar financial empire which invests in the very agribusinesses which are driving farmers off the land. It also lobbies on behalf of those agribusinesses and others while ignoring the destructive impact that consolidation is having on the fraction of its membership which engages in production agriculture.
"There are many wonderful people who are farmer-members of Farm Bureau," said Fred Stokes, OCM president. "I have been a member of Farm Bureau for more than two decades. But the elected leadership sits on the boards of Farm Bureau banks and insurance companies and soon forgets about the farmer-members." Stokes concurs with the widespread view that, in many cases, this places the leadership in direct conflict with member interests.
Rather than admitting their problems and working to correct them, the Farm Bureau has been putting out damage control letters throughout the organization, with talking points, to counter the facts set forth in the "60 Minutes" broadcast. The day after the expose, the front page of its website read, "The '60 Minutes' report on Farm Bureau was one-sided and a gross distortion of many facts."
"I'm confused about which facts were gross distortions," said Farm Bureau member and OCM board member Keith Mudd. "Was it the part where Iowa Farm Bureau president received $200,000 worth of stock options in FBL Financial Group? Or was it the part where the Iowa Farm Bureau lobbied intensively for the Iowa State Legislature to bail out Access Air from bankruptcy, a company it had invested in, while ignoring the plight of farmers who are also facing bankruptcy?"
"Last December, the Mississippi chapter of Farm Bureau strongly condemned the national leadership for lobbying against a bill which would temporarily halt the biggest agribusiness mergers," said Madera County, California Farm Bureau member Clay Daulton. "Farm Bureau staff responded to the condemnation by stating that the Mississippi resolution did not occur. I don't understand how they can have any credibility left in agriculture circles. They could do so much good if they tried. Yet they continue promoting such programs as federal subsidies for farmers to purchase the crop insurance which they sell.":
