Smithfield Foods will close its Charlotte, North Carolina, pork-processing plant and transfer production to its Tar Heel, North Carolina, facility to increase efficiency and better utilize existing capacity. The company will provide financial and other transition assistance to the 107 employees who are affected by this closure and will meet with employees to discuss options including transfer to other Smithfield locations. Smithfield will also provide a financial incentive package for hourly employees to remain at Charlotte until the final day of production in December.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is announcing partnerships for a new, interagency pilot project aimed at offering more localized ground bison meat for tribal communities through the Food Distribution Program on Indian Reservations (FDPIR). The pilot will look at changes to how USDA purchases bison to better support buying the meat from local, small, and mid-sized bison herd managers and delivering it directly to their local tribal communities.
In the second year of the meat sector’s pioneering data collection and reporting on five key focus areas for continuous improvement, the number of companies submitting data grew by nearly 60% and now covering more than half of all establishments operated by Meat Institute members. With 93% of the Meat Institute’s largest member companies (more than 2000 employees) submitting data, the report reflects commitments and actions covering an estimated 90% of meat sold in the United States.
The Livestock Publications Council will hold its October Coffee and Collaboration on Wednesday, October 18, 2023 at 10 a.m. CT. This session is titled “Telling Hard Stories That Need to Be Told” moderated by Lisa Moser featuring guest speakers Maddison Caldwell and Jennifer Shike of Farm Journal’s PORK.
As seedstock producers, Bruner Angus Ranch and Wendel Livestock, in North Dakota, were focused on raising herd sires and replacement heifers for customers. Now they sell their finished cattle, as well as those of their customers, through Dakota Angus. That partnership earned the 2023 CAB Progressive Partner award, and the two families were recognized in September at the CAB Annual Conference in Las Vegas, Nevada.
The National Cattlemen’s Foundation (NCF) is now accepting applications for the 2024 CME Group Beef Industry Scholarship. Ten scholarships of $1,500 each will be awarded to outstanding students pursuing careers in the beef industry.
smaXtec, the most advanced health system preventing diseases in dairy cows, announced the launch of new artificial intelligence capabilities with the introduction of TruAdvice technology.
Dairy MAX, a nonprofit dairy council representing more than 900 dairy farmers, announced the hiring of Becky Richardson as Vice President of School Marketing. In this pivotal role, Richardson will steer Dairy MAX’s strategic efforts in promoting dairy consumption and healthy nutrition among school-age children across Colorado, southwest Kansas, Louisiana, Montana, New Mexico, western Oklahoma, Texas and Wyoming.
The regenerative agriculture consulting firm Understanding Ag, LLC, announced it will be conducting an intensive, two-day workshop on livestock economics, finance and marketing in Kansas City, Missouri, Nov. 29-30.
Attendee registration and general housing for the 2024 International Production & Processing Expo (IPPE) opened Monday, Oct. 16. Attendees will EXPERIENCE IT ALL at the world’s largest annual display of technology, equipment, supplies and services used in the production and processing of eggs, meat and poultry, and those involved in feed manufacturing.
The National Pork Industry Foundation, a nonprofit research and educational organization led by pork industry leaders and managed by the National Pork Producers Council, has opened applications for the Neil Dierks Scholarship to honor NPPC’s previous longtime CEO, Neil Dierks. The $5,000 scholarship is given annually to a college student pursuing a graduate degree at a land-grant university in a field related to the pork industry.
