But the federal government's push for ethanol production, along with its 51-cents-per-gallon subsidy for ethanol, has caused feed-corn prices to nearly double since January 2006. They say their higher costs will likely translate to higher grocery-store prices for such things as steaks, chicken, bacon and eggs. With the spike in prices, Arnold said she's glad her family is selling its Lehi farm, once the largest in the state with thousands of pigs. feed-corn crop, according to the research...

New vaccine could work against foot and mouth Monday, 4 June 2007 A new vaccine shows promise for preventing foot and mouth disease in livestock, proving effective in tests on cattle and swine in the United States. Scientists expect that more studies will show at least the six months of immunity is provided by current vaccines in cattle and swine. The vaccine shows effectiveness within seven days, and in tests so far, cattle retain immunity for at least 21 days. The disease is rarely...

pork producer and processor, which has been raising prices to combat rising feeding costs, expects a stronger year in fiscal 2008 than in the just-ended fiscal year 2007, said C. Smithfield projected big plans for the packaged meats part of its business, but the potential impact those may have on Nebraska operations was not made clear. Some product categories, such as pre-cooked bacon, lunch meats, smoked sausage and dry sausage, had growth of virtually double the prior year, the company...

The upshot of this pig plague is a near-30% rise in pork prices and an even bigger jump in the price of pigs. This hits China's population hard, since pork is a staple of the local diet, notwithstanding recent incursions by Western food vendors. Why do we care about this distant problem? For starters, some analysts project that inflation in China will have risen to around 4% from 3% in the most recent month. It apparently set up a "strategic pork reserve" in the late 1990s to offset an...

Following a thorough, ten-day investigation, inspectors with the North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) informed Smithfield that employees' drinking water at Tar Heel is perfectly clean, that equipment was not in need of repair and that there was no substantiation for the union's allegations. Following a thorough, ten-day investigation, inspectors with the North Carolina Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) informed Smithfield that employees'...