What appears to be missing to allow many communal and resettled farmers an excellent source of cash are the markets and back-up the smaller farmers often lack. Pigs have been described as the greatest asset a smallholder can imagine, being fast breeding animals that can produce large litters and which can be fed on almost anything. Emphasis has been placed on cattle, which is fine, but more attention needs to be given to goats, pigs and sheep for several reasons. Pig farming has some...

Local authorities were urged to effectively quarantine epidemic areas and ban the slaughtering, marketing, transport and consumption of pork meat harvested from such pigs. The ministry urged veterinary departments to stay on alert, having a full grasp of the severity of the highly pathogenic disease and using all possible means to curb its spread. Huang Hai, assistant Minister of Commerce, said on Saturday that the price of pork would hover on a high level in the latter half of the year,...

Workers hold signs criticizing Smithfield Foods Edwards has not talked to the company specifically but he did send a letter and he's looking for federal legislation to help the problem. Edwards supports workers Union activists trying to organize employees at the world's largest hog processing plant now have a powerful ally -- presidential candidate John Edwards -- in their corner. Keith Ludlum says employee issues at the world's largest pig slaughterhouse are nothing new. Smithfield Foods...

Future profits in the pork industry look bright, which is leading pork producers to develop new areas where they can construct and operate large scale hog farms. A Broadcaster investigation taking into account about a dozen studies, news reports and independent interviews in both the states of Iowa and North Carolina, where there are more than 10 million hogs, found that citizens, who had hog farming operations crop up near their residences, became miserable -- many to the point where they...

The technology can cost $300,000 or more, prompting policy group Environmental Defense to call for the General Assembly to pay for construction on farms across the state. Super Soils is marketing a system that separates the solids from pig manure and converts it into a range of products, including potting soil, fertilizer, a money-saving additive for coal and even plastic. Unless the ban is extended, or a more environmentally friendly solution is found, more hog lagoons could be added as...