43rd Farm Picnic at Pierz
August 18 @ 1:00 pm
What: 43rd Farm Picnic at Pierz, co-sponsored by COACT and Morrison County Farmers Union.
When: 1 p.m. Aug. 18
Where: Pierz Park, 603 Park Ave., Pierz
Tickets: Free tickets for the traditional country dinner of ham, sweet corn and potato salad are available at the picnic, compliments of Main Street businesses.
Speakers include:
Minnesota Agriculture Commissioner Thom Petersen.
Deborah Keaveny, founder of Minnesota Independent Pharmacists (MNindys). As a rural independent pharmacy owner, Keaveny will explain how big pharma’s extensive use of pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) in healthcare has become the greatest threat to community pharmacies and how MNindys is dealing with that and working on other ways to continue serving patients’ needs.
“PBMs, as middlemen for big pharma, set the price we are reimbursed; they also choose what drugs are on the formulary. We can’t really call these contracts ‘agreements’ because it’s basically ‘take it, or you leave it,'” she said. As a result, 24 of Minnesota’s non-chain pharmacies closed in 2023, leading to what may become rural “pharmacy deserts,” according to the Minnesota Pharmacists Association.
Minnesota Farmers Union Executive Board member Linda Larson will relate big pharma’s threat to independent pharmacies to Farmer Union’s work in countering the monopolization of family farms and small businesses.
Who’s involved: The Farm Picnic is central Minnesota’s annual celebration of Main Street businesses and family farms as the pillars of our rural economy. It is co-sponsored by Morrison County Farmers Union and Minnesota COACT.