A Chinese takeover of Smithfields? Monday, August 5, 2013 Last year was financially unkind to Smithfield Foods Inc., the largest pork producer in the United States. While full year sales were up a full percentage point to US$13.2 billion, net income was down to $183.8 million, nearly a 50 per cent drop from $361 million a year before.The company's press release said pork production was not a money maker last year because of higher feed costs and other inputs. Any pork producer could have told you that.No wonder shareholders were enthusiastic about Shuanghui International, the largest butcher in China, taking over Smithfield sometime in the next six months. Shuanghui was offering US$31 a share for Smithfield Foods stock, a 31 per cent premium over the previous trading price of $25.75. The sale requires federal government approval.Shareholders aren't the only ones wondering where this is going. Producers across North America wonder what it will mean if a firm from China, the largest pork consumer and producer in the world, acquires the Smithfield company, if indeed the sale is approved. Is this more pork going to China and away from North American markets, or what else might happen? BP Coping with the wild boar invasion Tennessee backs down on ag-gag law
Spain mobilises military against swine fever, says contaminated sandwich could be cause Monday, December 1, 2025 Spain's military was deployed on Monday to contain an African swine fever outbreak near Barcelona which officials suspect may have been triggered by a wild boar eating contaminated food such as a sandwich, sparking a chain of events now disrupting the country's multibillion-euro pork export... Read this article online
How a pig disease posed a hidden biosecurity trap for beef exports Monday, December 1, 2025 It may come as a confronting surprise for cattle producers to learn that a pig disease could have cost them access to a key export beef market, had it made the relatively short hop from Timor Leste since gaining a foothold there in 2019. At LIVEXchange 2025, former chief veterinary... Read this article online
South Korea raises African Swine Fever alert after outbreak at pig farm Monday, December 1, 2025 South Korea said on Tuesday there had been an outbreak of African Swine Fever (ASF) at a pig farm in the country's largest pig-breeding region, prompting authorities to raise the national alert level to "serious". Some 1,423 pigs were culled due to the outbreak at a farm in Dangjin, South... Read this article online
New research at University of Saskatchewan identifies cause of pig ear necrosis Monday, December 1, 2025 Pig ear necrosis was first described in the 1960s, but since then it’s been nearly impossible to identify the cause of the painful animal affliction. Until now, that is. New research at the University of Saskatchewan has identified the bacteria that causes pig ear necrosis – a fairly... Read this article online
Common gut bacteria identified as cause of pig ear necrosis Monday, December 1, 2025 It's a problem that's made its way through pig farms around the world for decades, with no clear cause or solution. But new research from the University of Saskatchewan (USask) has identified the cause of pig ear necrosis, a painful and troublesome affliction that causes the ear tissue of pigs... Read this article online