Dakota Rural Action is one of 35 farm and food groups calling on elected officials and candidates running for office to address the disproportionate market power held by large agribusinesses. DRA Chairman John Harter, who ranches near Winner, says family farming and ranching operations are being devastated by ag market concentration.

He says elected officials need to take several steps including increasing the federal governments antitrust enforcement powers and re-instating mandatory country of origin labeling.

Harter says it’s not just production agriculture hurting from the concentration problem.

Harter notes that between 2012 and 2017, nearly 70,000 farms went out of business, most of which were mid-sized family owned operations.