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☆ Pork belly prices are up 100% this year — your breakfast bacon is about to get pricier
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-23 | by ( Lee Ying Shan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Wholesale pork belly prices are currently trading at 270.89 cents per pound. And consumers are about to see even higher prices of bacon, which is primarily cut from pork bellies. Analysts who spoke to CNBC attributed the surge in pork prices partly to a recently imposed animal welfare regulation in California, which came into effect July 1. Proposition 12 played a "major role" in the surge in prices, said Urner Barry pork market analyst, Ryan Hojnowski. Consequently, sellers of bacon will want to keep their profit margins up — thus, the spike in pork belly wholesale prices is going to translate to higher retail and food services prices, he said.

Persons: Bacon, Zachary Zirlin, —, That's, Brian Earnest, Cobank's Earnest, Earnest, Barry, Ryan Hojnowski, Hojnowski, Urner Barry, Glenn Asakawa Organizations: Eyeem, Getty, CNBC, National Pork Producers Council, Medianews, Denver Locations: California, FactSet, Colorado

☆ Is Cheap Pork Worth the Abuse of Pigs? - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-05 | by ( Nicholas Kristof | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

We used to raise hogs on our family farm here, and to be honest I didn’t much like them. Defenders of farm animals sometimes compare pigs to dogs, but our hogs didn’t display any canine-style affection and instead were grouchy, whiny, strong-willed and prone to wander. Still, our pigs were indisputably very smart with distinctive personalities, and sows made terrific moms (helicopter moms, too, keeping a close eye on wayward piglets). In short, I wouldn’t compare pigs to golden retrievers — they’re much more like people. We no longer raise pigs on our farm, nor do most other small family farms.

The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC), the pork industry trade group, supports the Ending Agricultural Trade Suppression (EATS) Act, a bill introduced by U.S. Animal welfare groups say Proposition 12 is necessary because some sows and hens are housed in cages so small they cannot turn around. "We ultimately don’t believe the EATS Act is aligned with progress in animal welfare," Carey said. Hormel Foods <HRL.N> and Tyson Foods (TSN.N) did not respond to questions about the EATS Act. All of its 750 ranchers are in compliance with Proposition 12, said vice president of communications Kerri McClimen.

Persons: Randy Hutton Jr, Leah Millis, Roger Marshall, Ashley Hinson, Clemens, Tyson, Bryan Humphreys, Chris Carey, Carey, Jim Monroe, Brian Moscogiuri, Galina Hale, Chris Green, Randy Hutton, Jr, Hutton Jr, Perdue, Kerri McClimen, Leah Douglas, David Gregorio, Marguerita Choy Organizations: REUTERS, U.S ., Pork Producers Council, U.S, Clemens Food Group, Supreme, Reuters, Smithfield Foods, Tyson Foods, University of California, Harvard Law School's Animal Law, Niman, Thomson Locations: Chestertown , Maryland, U.S, California, U.S . Congress, Smithfield, Santa Cruz, Shore

☆ Farms With Thousands of Hogs Are Often a Nightmare for Neighbors
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-31 | by ( Shannon Najmabadi | Photographs Kc Mcginnis For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Hogs outnumber residents by about 7 to 1 in Iowa, the top pork producer in the nation. Hog farms and pork processors directly employed 36,070 workers here in 2021, according to the National Pork Producers Council. A typical hog farm in southeast Iowa is capable of producing enough feces and urine to fill one-and-a-half Olympic-size swimming pools a year. The manure breaks down in pits, emitting ammonia, methane and other noxious gases before it's used as fertilizer. Pig carcasses are composted in sawdust at Valley View Swine.

Organizations: National Pork Producers Council Locations: Iowa

☆ Pig cooling pads and weather forecasts for cows are high-tech ways to make meat in a warming world
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

More intense summer heat resulting from emissions-driven climate change means animal heat stress that can result in billions of dollars in lost revenue for farmers and ranchers if not properly managed. But technology often insulates livestock in richer countries — another way global warming exacerbates the gap between wealthy and poor nations. Their cows are already showing signs of improved welfare, like chewing more cud, and there's more heat ahead this summer. "We're going to do what's best by our cows no matter what is or isn't going on with climate change," said Megan McAllister, a sixth-generation dairy farmer. As part of his work with Kansas State, Redmond gives presentations to producers and the general public, and he said that climate change has come up in conversations.

Persons: Farmer Ken Ries, Atul Jain, Mario Herrero, McAllister, Megan McAllister, Michelle Schack, they've, let's, Schack, Gerald Nelson, Nelson, Chip Redmond, Redmond, Jackie Boerman, Boerman Organizations: Livestock, The University of Illinois, Cornell University, University of Illinois, USDA, Kansas State University, Kansas State, Purdue University Locations: Ryan , Iowa, U.S, The University of Illinois Urbana, Champaign, United States, New Vienna , Iowa, Arizona, University of Illinois Urbana

☆ Someone's got to put an end to the Musk vs. Zuck billionaire 'dick measuring contest' before Elon gets his ruler out
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-10 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk is proposing a "dick measuring contest." It's unclear what sparked the sudden interest on Musk's part in whipping out a ruler to quash his Zuckerberg beef. But the cage match Musk suggested in June also started out as a joke — at least until Zuckerberg took the bait and asked Musk to send over the location for fight night. She's been known to scold her son occasionally, so maybe she can make him see reason where no one else can. Good luck, Momma Musk; you're the hero we need in this darkest of timelines.

Persons: Elon Musk, Mark Zuckerberg, emoji, Musk, Zuckerberg, Twit, Zuck, who's, Momma Musk Organizations: Twitter, Meta

☆ When Your Neighbor Is a Farm with 2,500 Hogs
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Shannon Najmabadi | Photographs Kc Mcginnis For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

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Persons: Dow Jones

☆ When Your Neighbor Is a Farm With 2,500 Hogs
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-07 | by ( Shannon Najmabadi | Photographs Kc Mcginnis For The Wall Street Journal | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Persons: Dow Jones

☆ There's a pig theme park in China and people are paying $1,200 a night for a hotel room so they may see — but not smell — the piggery
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-30 | by ( Huileng Tan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A hotel room at a pig theme park costs over $1,200 a night, per local media. The room went viral after a Zhejiang media outlet, Tianmu News, posted a video clip on June 25 featuring the theme park on Douyin, the Chinese version of TikTok. The theme park, which opened in August 2021, aims to promote this highly prized pig breed, which is used to make Jinhua dry-cured ham, a local specialty. Guests can get a panda pig or a year's worth of express-couriered pork upon checkout. —Zhejiang Normal University (@StudyatZJNU) December 1, 2021The theme park — which has a castle-like facade — includes a museum dedicated to the pig, a cafe, an amusement park, and a conference room, according to its website.

Persons: — Organizations: Service, China News Service, Zhejiang Normal University Locations: China, Jinhua, Zhejiang, Douyin

☆ A Reuters journalist explores his ancestors’ ties to slavery
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +38 min

It took me a few minutes of research to figure out why I was losing track of the descendants of the people George Julian enslaved. If the racial cleansing of Forsyth County was mentioned, I didn’t notice. Still hopeful that I might be able to somehow identify and locate living descendants of the people my family enslaved, I flew to Georgia last November. Her father was also a butler for a wealthy white family, her mother a cook. In 1860, Osby’s ancestors were enslaved and working the fields of Forsyth County.

Persons: Julian, Abijah’s, George Julian, George, ”, Adaline, –, Abijah, Dick, Lott, Aggy, Henry, Lewis, Ellick, Jim, Josiah, Reuben, Woodrow Wilson, Rob Edwards, Black, Oprah Winfrey, Forsyth, “, Cumming, who’d, Abijah Julian, ” Gov, Joseph Mackey Brown, ‘ Dick, I’d, Grandma Horseyfeather, Brice gesturing, ” I’d, Grandma Horseyfeather’s, – I’ve, “ Lott, Abijah Julian’s, Richard Julian, Charlotte Julian, Richard, Charlotte, George Julian’s, She’d, “ I’m, That’s, Martin Luther King, wasn’t, Sophia Dodd, Dodd, Elon Osby, – Dodd, Osby, Bailey, George H, Julian ” –, – “, ” Osby, ” Dodd, Ida Julian ., Ida Julian’s, Ida ., Ida hadn’t, Ida Julian, Bagley, Willie M, Willie Mae Bagley, Willie Mae Butts, Elon Butts Osby, Osby’s, ’, Elon Osby’s, Ida Bagley, William Bagley, Adaline Julian, Richard Julian –, Abijah Julian –, she’d, we’ve, you’ve, ELON, crunched underfoot, could’ve, Abijah John Julian ”, Webster, I’ve, weren’t, “ We’re, – we’re, …, Horseyfeather, gesturing, “ You’re, Tom Lasseter, Corinne Perkins, Wong, Jeremy Schultz, Catherine Tai Design, John Emerson, Blake Morrison Organizations: ., Reuters, ”, Black, Charlotte, Toyota, Atlanta History, Elon, Lockheed, Tiffany, Atlanta Housing Authority, Task Force, Mazda, American Legion, United, Confederacy Locations: Forsyth, Negros, negros, Virginia, . Civil, Georgia, Cumming, U.S, Forsyth ., Dawson, Atlanta, Tulsa , Oklahoma, Jefferson County , Georgia, Forsyth County, Charlotte, Thai, Macedonia, Buckhead, Bagley, America, Fulton County, Fulton, Bagley Park, Iraq, Afghanistan, Osby, England, Juneteenth, Brooks County

☆ Cramer says to trim your portfolio and don't be greedy: 'It’s okay to take something off the table after a big run'
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-21 | by ( Julie Coleman | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Cramer said it's time to trim some hot stocks and keep money waiting in the wings while the Federal Reserve weighs its next move. "It's okay to take something off the table after a big run," he said. For CNBC's Charitable Trust, Cramer trimmed stock from Facebook parent Meta , AMD and Costco because he'd seen such high gains, especially in the latter two. "I just told you what we're doing for the trust: Waiting," Cramer said. "It's often the hardest thing to do, but many times the hardest thing to do is also the best way to try to make a lot of money."

Persons: CNBC's Jim Cramer, Cramer, he'd, we're, —, It's Organizations: Federal Reserve, AMD, Costco, Fed

Gains across most-active CBOT futures in the week ended June 6 were as follows: corn 2.4%, soybeans 4.4%, wheat 6.2%, soymeal 1% and soyoil 10.2%. They also trimmed their net short in CBOT corn futures and options to 44,492 contracts from 51,065 in the prior week. Managed money net position in CBOT corn futures and optionsCommodity funds in mid-March established a net short in CBOT corn for the first time since August 2020, but they have not held a net short in soybeans since April 2020. Funds slashed their net short to 16,173 futures and options contracts from a record 31,110 a week earlier. Most-active soybean oil featured the biggest gains at 7.2%, and corn was the biggest loser with December down 1.9% and most-active corn down 0.6%, mostly on weekend rain expectations for the U.S. Corn Belt.

Persons: soymeal, Karen Braun, Diane Craft Organizations: Funds, Wednesday, U.S, Reuters, Thomson Locations: NAPERVILLE , Illinois, Chicago, CBOT soyoil, Midwest

☆ Swine fever: World's first vaccine against deadly animal disease nears approval in Vietnam
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

African swine fever has for years disrupted the $250 billion global pork market. The next step will be nationwide authorization, the first ever for an African swine fever vaccine, and possible sales overseas. Use of unlicensed live-virus vaccines in China in past years raised concerns they caused the emergence of new strains of swine fever. Only limited data are available from China’s trials on a live-virus vaccine against swine fever. NAVETCO, AVAC and Vietnam’s agriculture ministry, which is responsible for approval of veterinary vaccines, did not respond to requests for comment.

Persons: Gregorio Torres, “, ” Torres, ”, Thomas Vilsack, ” Vilsack, WOAH Organizations: World Organization for Animal Health, Reuters, Rabobank, United States Department of Agriculture Locations: Vietnam, China, United States

☆ World's first vaccine against deadly swine fever nears approval in Vietnam
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-07 | by ( Francesco Guarascio | Thomson Reuters | Francesco Leads A Team Of Reporters In Vietnam That Covers Top Financial | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

African swine fever has for years disrupted the $250 billion global pork market. The next step will be nationwide authorisation, the first ever for an African swine fever vaccine, and possible sales overseas. "There will be a specific interest obviously," Vilsack said in an interview with Reuters in April, speaking about possible purchases of the Vietnamese vaccines. Use of unlicensed live-virus vaccines in China in past years raised concerns they caused the emergence of new strains of swine fever. Only limited data are available from China's trials on a live-virus vaccine against swine fever.

Persons: Gregorio Torres, Torres, Thomas Vilsack, Vilsack, WOAH, Francesco Guarascio, Phuong Nguyen, Khanh, Dominique Patton, Sonali Paul Organizations: Organisation for Animal Health, Reuters, Rabobank, United States Department of Agriculture, Thomson Locations: Vietnam, Hanoi, world's, HANOI, China, U.S, United States, Khanh Vu, Beijing

☆ Opinion | The Climate Solution That’s Horrible for the Climate
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-06 | by ( Michael Grunwald | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

As America rushes to generate more renewable electricity, it has become fashionable to fret that solar and wind farms use too much land. But America is also racing to produce more renewable fuels, and they use much, much more land to displace much, much less fossil fuel. And that’s mainly because they’re inefficient land hogs. That’s a huge waste of precious land the world needs to store carbon that can stabilize our warming climate and grow crops that can help feed the growing population. Like direct payments, countercyclical payments, loan deficiency payments and other U.S. farm programs, biofuel subsidies redistribute tax dollars from the 99 percent of Americans who don’t farm to the roughly 1 percent who do.

Persons: they’re Organizations: Environmental Protection Agency Locations: California, That’s, Washington, America

☆ Supreme Court rejects challenge to California pork industry restriction
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-11 | by ( Lawrence Hurley | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +4 min

Demonstrators with PETA gather outside the Supreme Court of the United States and the high court hears oral arguments on a California law mandating better treatment of animals in food production is being challenged by the pork industry, on Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2022 in Washington, DC. The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a challenge to a California animal welfare law that would ban the sale of pork derived from breeding pigs housed in confined spaces. "While the Constitution addresses many weighty issues, the type of pork chops California merchants may sell is not on that list," Gorsuch said. Lower courts upheld the measure, prompting the challengers to turn to the Supreme Court, which has a 6-3 conservative majority. The groups challenging the California law said in court papers that Proposition 12 "will transform the pork industry nationwide" because currently nearly all farmers keep sows in pens that do not comply with the law.

☆ Tyson Foods aims to resume slaughtering pigs in mid May at Nebraska plant
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

CHICAGO, May 9 (Reuters) - Tyson Foods Inc (TSN.N) plans to resume slaughtering pigs in mid-May at a Madison, Nebraska, pork plant damaged by fire two weeks ago, the meatpacker said on Tuesday. The extended halt to slaughtering comes as weak consumer demand for pork and low prices are squeezing margins for meatpackers and hurting hog farmers. The Madison plant is doing limited "further processing" work, she said, after hogs are slaughtered elsewhere. The company previously said it was repairing the plant and expected it to resume production the second week of May. U.S. meatpackers slaughtered an estimated 451,000 hogs on Tuesday, down from 470,000 hogs a week ago and 478,000 hogs a year ago, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

Managed money net position in Chicago wheat futures and optionsMost-active CBOT wheat futures had shed 2.5% in the period. They also reduced their net long in Minneapolis wheat to 245 futures and options contracts from 694 a week earlier. wheat rose 1.2% and CBOT wheat gained 1.3%. CBOT wheat has also displayed considerable weakness versus CBOT corn, as front-month wheat’s advantage to corn slipped below 15 cents per bushel Thursday, the lowest since July 2021 and below long-term averages. The record net long is 154,550 contracts set in April 2019, and it is very rare for funds to be short cattle.

☆ The banking crisis is doing Fed's work and creating a window for stocks to rally
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-26 | by ( Jim Cramer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +19 min

Work from home has in part jacked up food prices, and the increase is about 14% above just last year. The only bank that looks like Silicon Valley Bank is First Republic Bank (FRC) because it, too, has suffered huge deposit withdrawals. Nike (NKE)said China orders were good, so did Club stock Starbucks (SBUX). As counterintuitive as it is, the banking row will give the 4.8% fed funds rate a chance to cool consumer spending. This gives stocks a window to advance until we begin earnings season with what will no doubt be a cautious banking sector.

☆ China's pig farms battle new surge in African swine fever
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Dominique Patton | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

"Data from swine fever virus testing companies show that the number of positive detections exploded after the new year holiday. "We guess that the current swine fever infection area in northern production areas may be reaching 50%," it added. We feel it hasn't ended yet, that's the problem," he said, declining to be identified due to the sensitivity of disease outbreaks in China. HARD TO ASSESSChinese farms typically do not report disease outbreaks to the government, making it challenging to get an accurate picture of the extent of the infections. Though not as serious as in 2019, the disease could reduce production by more than 10%, Huachuang analyst Xiao Lin told Reuters.

☆ U.S. farm incomes seen to fall in 2023, after hitting record highs
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( P.J. Huffstutter | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Net farm income - which is a broad measure of profits in the agricultural economy, according to the agency - is forecast to reach $136.9 billion in 2023 in nominal dollars, down nearly 16% from a year earlier. The agency said the drop follows 2022 net farm income hitting a high of $162.7 billion, in nominal dollars, and $140.9 billion in 2021. When adjusted for inflation, net farm income is forecast to fall $30.5 billion, or 18.2%, in 2023 compared with a year earlier. Still, the USDA noted, this year's net farm income is expected to be nearly 27% above its 20-year average, in inflation-adjusted dollars. While farm sector debt is forecast to continue to increase, so is farm equity, mostly due to rising land and equipment values, said USDA Economic Research Service economist Carrie Litkowski.

☆ Morning Bid: Market to ChatGPT: what's Powell gotta say?
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] ChatGPT logo and rising stock graph are seen in this illustration taken, February 3, 2023. Google owner Alphabet (GOOGL.O) unveiled a rival to super popular ChatGPT, saying it will launch a chatbot service named 'Bard'. Asian shares held their ground while the rally in the U.S. dollar took a breather on Tuesday. Reuters GraphicsMeanwhile, a deadly earthquake killed more than 3,700 people across a swathe of Turkey and northwest Syria, sending Turkey's lira to a record low. Before Powell takes centre stage and hogs the limelight, Bank of England's Huw Pill is also due to speak and his comments on monetary policy will likely move markets.

☆ In Texas, hunters shoot feral pigs from helicopters
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-03 | by ( Evan Garcia | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BRYAN, Texas, Feb 3 (Reuters) - On a bitterly cold January morning, a helicopter soars above central Texas farmland. The four passengers hanging outside the aircraft are hunting - going after feral hogs, an invasive species in the southeastern United States. First introduced to North America by early explorers hundreds of years ago, feral hogs can wreak havoc on agriculture, tearing up soil and eating plants. According to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, an estimated 6.9 million feral hogs roamed the United States in 2016 – with more than one-third of that population, 2.6 million hogs, living in Texas. For hunters like Mitchell Birkett, a 21-year-old Texas A&M University student, going after the hogs was a chance to combine pleasure with purpose.

Companies Hormel Foods Corp FollowNov 15 (Reuters) - Hormel Foods' labeling of a meat product line as "natural" despite using the same hogs and production methods as its other brands shows the U.S. meat labeling system needs reforms, said consumer advocates and documents released on Tuesday from a lawsuit the company is close to settling. “This is an endemic problem, not a Hormel problem.”Hormel said the company complies with USDA rules and guidelines for labeling and that it stands behind its Natural Choice products. "The term ‘natural’ is practically unregulated and can/will be used widely – as a result there is little to no difference between ‘natural’ meat and ‘conventional’ meat," read the slides, which were part of the document release. The presentation also advised companies to appeal to consumers' desire for wholesome products by packaging their meat in cardboard. Hormel and ALDF asked the court to dismiss the case last Thursday after agreeing to settlement terms.

Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards The Passive-Aggressive Illustration: Ash Lamb for CNBC Make It2. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards The Insecure Boss Illustration: Ash Lamb for CNBC Make It3. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards The Pessimist Illustration: Ash Lamb for CNBC Make It4. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Don't label them as "passive-aggressive." Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Focus on the real concern or question hidden behind the snarky comments.

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