U.S. hog and pork company Smithfield Foods has sold to a Chinese hog processor. The implications for the U.S. cattle industry are largely positive....More

Beef production and slaughter have been larger in recent weeks, helping to make the decrease in the year-to-date total less than many analysts expected, says Derrell Peel, Oklahoma State University Cooperative Extension livestock marketing specialist....More

Possible meat inspector furloughs, due to the federal budget sequestration, are at least several months away says Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack....More

U.S. Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, says that under law, USDA is obligated to perform meat and poultry inspections for the safety of consumers. This is despite threats by the Obama administration to furlough Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) employees due to forced spending cuts set to take effect March 1, 2013....More

A critical leverage point in livestock and meat markets is packer margin.While producers determine long-run product supplies and the timing of those supplies with their decisions to breed animals....More