St. Paul, Minn. – Yesterday state Rep. Jack Considine (DFL – Mankato) joined five of his legislative colleagues in sending a letter to Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton and Attorney General Lori Swanson urging them to enforce state antitrust laws to stop further consolidation among large agricultural conglomerates.
“Minnesota family farms are small businesses, and as we know, small business is the well from which entrepreneurs spring, but these folks are under attack,” Considine said. “Continued mergers by huge corporations will eventually dry their supply lines out. The small family farm operations in this state are worth protecting, and I call upon the Governor and Attorney General to use all tools at their disposal to ensure family farms can thrive.”
The letter comes on the eve of Bayer’s acquisition of Monsanto, with a potential merger of DuPont and Dow Chemical on the horizon. Between 1994 and 2009, the market share of the four largest crop and biotechnology firms increased from 21 to 54 percent. Considine noted that increased consolidation will only lead to less competition and higher prices for farmers as they struggle with low commodity prices.