Fighting the Corporate Squeeze

National Farmer Union’s Fairness for Farmers campaign and the issue of competition are the overriding themes at the NFU convention. “We need to push against the corporate squeeze that is being put on all of us farmers,” said North Dakota Farmers Union Vice President Bob Kuylen. “Last year, I spent about $70,000 on fertilizer. This year, I have about three-quarters of my fertilizer down and I’m at $150,000 already.” Even if commodity prices are up, Kuylen says it won’t cover the cost of the crop inputs. “Everything we buy and everything we sell is controlled by about four different companies and it just isn’t right, we need competition.”