CONTACT: Michele Skogrand, LSP, 320-269-2105;
lspwest@landstewardshipproject.org

3/31/06
MORRIS, Minn.—Can farmers in west-central Minnesota gain enough market power to make their operations consistently profitable? Yes, says agricultural economist and author Richard Levins. Levins will talk about his latest book, Market Power for Farmers: What It Is, How to Get It, How to Use It, Tuesday, April 18, beginning at 7 p.m., at the Hosanna Worship Center, 46303 State Hwy. 28 in Morris. The fee for this public event is $5. For more information, contact Michele Skogrand in the Land Stewardship Project’s Montevideo office at 320-269-2105 or lspwest@landstewardshipproject.org.

Before retiring from the University of Minnesota in 2003, Levins worked directly with farmers, farm groups and public officials for almost 25 years in matters of farm management, farm policy and sustainable agriculture. Levins still writes and speaks extensively on issues of family farming, collective bargaining for farmers and competition in the food system.

In Market Power for Farmers, he describes how farmers can team up with other farmers and create enough market power to benefit financially from their efficiency and ability to add value to their production. Levins argues that the agricultural economy has changed so much that farmers can no longer assume all their hard work will pay off when it comes time to market their production.

“If farmers are going to add value I want them to keep the value. If they’re going to get more efficient, I want them to keep the benefits of that,” said Levins. “But that doesn’t happen automatically. Those benefits go to the strongest players, and a farmer acting alone can hardly expect to be the strongest player when they look at who’s buying their products.”

One of the examples Levins cites of farmers banding together to create market power is the Organic Farmers’ Agency for Relationship Marketing (OFARM). Carmen Fernholz, a Madison, Minn., farmer, was one of the founding members of OFARM.

“I realized I’m vulnerable when it came to marketing,” said Fernholz.

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BROADCASTERS: To obtain a 24-second MP3 audio clip of Richard Levins speaking about market power, click here, or contact Brian DeVore at 612-729-6294 or bdevore@landstewardshipproject.org.

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