Farmers Union meeting, Moorcroft, Wyo.

DENVER—Residents from Crook, Weston and Campbell counties are invited to a tri-county Farmers Union meeting Monday, April 19, at 7 pm, at the Hub Café, 120 S. Bighorn in Moorcroft, Wyo. The featured speaker will be John Stencel, president of Rocky Mountain Farmers Union (RMFU). Members and non-members are invited to attend. Dinner is provided by RMFU.

Stencel will address what RMFU is doing on behalf of Wyoming’s family farmers and ranchers. Among the topics to be addressed are national country-of-origin food labeling, mad cow disease, monopolization of agricultural markets by a few international firms, and recent international trade agreements. The group also will discuss Wyoming legislative issues.

“Rocky Mountain Farmers Union is aggressively addressing the issues that impact family farmers and ranchers,” said Stencel. “This meeting is an excellent opportunity for Farmers Union to let members know what we are doing on their behalf, as well as to solicit their input on these important issues.

Mandatory country-of-origin labeling was delayed for another two years, as a result of congressional action that cut proposed funding for implementation of the labeling. According to Stencel, country-of-origin labeling is favored by an overwhelming percentage of producers and consumers, yet members of Congress refuse to implement the program passed as part of the 2003 farm bill.

“RMFU continues to aggressively support laws and other policies that will lessen the monopoly on agricultural markets as a result of many sellers and only a few buyers,” Stencel said. “We also are very concerned about recent unilateral trade agreements with Central American countries and Australia that will reduce import tariffs on agricultural products from these countries.”

All are invited to attend the meeting, which is hosted by Crook-Weston County Farmers Union. For more information and to RSVP, contact the RMFU office at 800-373-7638 or locally, Margaret Cross at 307-756-9629.