Pigs.

Issues loom over hog farmers as they gather in Des Moines

Prop 12, bird flu, farm bill top of mind at this year's World Pork Expo

North America's hog industry is grappling with multiple issues these days, but is presently feeling better than some of the other livestock industries. That doesn't mean that everything's great, but not yet having to deal with avian flu infections is keeping hog farmers in a cautiously optimistic mood about their challenges.




Rep. Collin Peterson, chairman of the House agriculture committee, speaks to reporters at the Reuters Financial Regulation Summit in Washington on April 27, 2009. (File photo: Reuters/Mike Theiler)

U.S. House ag leader loses election, unsettling Midwest farm sector

Chicago | Reuters — Democratic U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson, chair for the House of Representatives’ agriculture committee, failed to win re-election in Minnesota on Tuesday, a loss some agriculture leaders said could hurt the U.S. Midwest grain belt. Though Democrats retained control of the House and therefore will again chair the committee, Peterson’s exit could


File photo of Britain’s environment, food and rural affairs secretary Theresa Villiers outside Downing Street on Dec. 17, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Toby Melville)

Britain launches farm bill as Brexit paves way for major reforms

London | Reuters — An agriculture bill will be introduced in Britain’s parliament on Thursday, with funding for the industry increasingly linked to tackling environmental challenges as the country develops its own farm policy for the first time in decades. Britain currently abides by the EU’s Common Agricultural Policy but is set to leave the

U.S. President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump survey damage and are briefed by a FEMA official on March 8, 2019 in Beauregard, Alabama, where 23 people in Lee County were killed by tornadoes earlier in the week. (Photo: Reuters/Mike Theiler)

Trump budget proposes steep subsidy cuts to U.S. farmers

Washington | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump’s 2020 budget on Monday proposed a 15 per cent cut for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, calling its subsidies to farmers “overly generous” at a time when they are going through the worst crisis in decades because of depressed commodity prices and Trump’s trade tariffs. The Republican