USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said that unless Congress reinstates a ban on horse slaughter, a proposed horse meat plant in New Mexico will open soon.

The Establishment Number Finder App is the first iPhone app dedicated to searching a U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) product establishment number.

Around the start of the New Year, I was writing a 2013 economic preview for our sister magazine, The National Provisioner.

The U.S. will be boosting species tests of imported meat products imported from Iceland, Ireland, Poland and the United Kingdom, according to a new USDA directive.

Colorado State University is the state’s Land Grant University and the Department of Animal Sciences is responsible for educating approximately 800 undergraduate and 50 graduate students at any given time.

The House of Representatives yesterday approved a $55 million shift of funds within the USDA in order to prevent any layoffs of federal meat inspectors and disruption to the meat and poultry industry.

The USDA is expected to approve a horse slaughtering plant in New Mexico within the next two months.

The timing and assignment of furloughs would be spread across the country to minimize the impact on processors.

The USDA has said that U.S. meat processors, who would have to essentially shut down while inspectors were laid off, would lose about $10 billion in production.

The Ball Park brand will launch this month two new lean hot dog products, with the introduction of Ball Park Lean Pork Franks and Lean Beef Franks.