Taking Action on Corporate Power in Agriculture
Saturday, March 22
12:00 pm 5:30 pm
Best Western Starlite Village
I-35 & 13th Street, Ames, IA (Exit 133 off of I-35)

Join family farmers and rural citizens from across the Midwest to help
fight factory farms and ban corporate meatpackers from owning livestock.

On Saturday, March 22 hundreds of family farmers and rural residents
from
across the Midwest will come together in Ames, Iowa to take action on
corporate concentration in agriculture.

Today, the six largest meat packers (Tyson/IBP, Cargill, Conagra,
Farmland,
Smithfield and Hormel) own 1.5 million sows and control 87% of the hog
market.  The first 4 of the companies control 80% of beef slaughter. As
a
result, independent producers have seen prices crash and markets
dwindle.
Family farmers are being driven out of business while rural communities
are
overrun with large factory farms and left with air and water pollution,
decreased property values, health problems, and a reduced quality of
life.  We need a ban on packer ownership of livestock and we need it
now.

Its time to come together to put heat directly on corporate power and
stand
up for family farmers, rural communities and the environment.  At the
meeting well focus on what it will take to win the packer ban.  Well
have
an update on the pork checkoff lawsuit. Well also address several topics

facing family farmers and rural communities in break out sessions about
key
issues.  Topics for the break out sessions will be:

1.       EQIP--The Environmental Quality Incentives Program:  This
session
will discuss how family farmers can utilize this program and how we can
keep factory farms from getting the money.

2.       Air Quality and Nuisance Lawsuits:  This session will discuss
the
detrimental impacts of factory farms on the environment, and how people
can
use litigation to protect themselves.

3.       Raising and marketing sustainable family farm livestock &
production contract issues:  During this session, we will talk about
production and marketing strategies for independent producers. In
addition
we will take a look at issues with production contracts.

To address passing the packer ban in Congress, we've invited:

    * SENATOR CHARLES GRASSLEY (R-Iowa)--The Lead Sponsor of the Packer
Ban
bill in the Senate.
    * SENATOR TOM HARKIN (D-Iowa)--Co-sponsor of the Packer Ban bill.
    * U.S. Representatives Leonard Boswell, Jim Nussle, Jim Leach, Tom
Latham and Steve King to discuss how to pass the packer ban in the House
of
Representatives.
    * STEVE MOLINE (Iowa Attorney General's Office)--Discussing
Smithfields
attempt to end Iowas state-level Packer Ban.
    * RANDY STOECKER (CEO of Prestage-Stoecker Farms representing
Smithfield). We will let Stoecker and Smithfield know that we want them
to
stop fighting the packer ban.

Registration for the event is $5.00. To register for the event or for
more
information, call one of the following Campaign for Family Farms member
groups:

Missouri Rural Crisis Center: 573-449-1336
Land Stewardship Project--Minnesota: 612-722-6377
Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement: 515-282-0484
Illinois Stewardship Alliance: 217-498-9707
Citizens' Action Coalition of Indiana: 812-941-1170

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