Special Reports

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For the fresh meat industry, including the fresh pork category, 2012 has been a challenging year.

Record-high feed costs during the second half of 2012 and undoubtedly at least for the first half of 2013 make any predictions about the chicken business in the new year more difficult and precarious than usual.

This summer, let alone the past year, has been a busy one for new programs and guidelines from the USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS).

Today, there are approximately 80,000 sheep ranches and farms in the United States that produce about 200 million pounds of lamb each year for the U.S. market.

Through the first 10 months of 2012, veal farmers and packers have faced similar challenges as other livestock sectors.

The turkey industry faces growing economic problems, fueled by the terrible drought in the Midwest and a misguided federal ethanol policy that is turning a feed shortage into an acute feed crisis.

Cattle feeders don’t like $7 or $8 corn, but they know what to do at those higher prices.

This special report commemorates the inductees into the Meat Industry Hall of Fame’s Class of 2012, with standard biographies of each inductee plus an exclusive Q&A on that inductee’s career in the meat industry.

We’ve created a new annual award — our Plant of the Year — and asked our readers, Web site visitors and industry contacts to vote, choosing from the list of processing facilities visited by NP from January 2011 through June 2012.

One of the issues that arise with spare parts management in every industry is the management of excess parts.