Meat & Poultry

With the sounds of a revving race engine, Richard Petty Motorsports (RPM) and Eckrich-sponsored NASCAR Sprint Cup Series driver Aric Almirola made a different kind of pit stop Thursday evening in Ann Arbor, Michigan. And it was all to the surprise of military family, the Kotts, in their own driveway. Almirola drove a replica of the famed No. 43 Eckrich stock car right up to the house of Sergeant First Class Howard Kott and his wife Dawn to surprise them with the opportunity to be honorary crew members this Sunday at the Michigan International Speedway. …

National Beef Packing Co. and JBS SA said Monday they would not change their cattle-buying practices after rival Tyson Foods Inc. announced last week it would stop processing animals fed with a widely used animal supplement. …

After nearly facing extinction, the Mangalitsa pig is making a comeback in Europe and the United States thanks to the work of Michigan farmers like Wilhelm Kohl, who was among the first to import the pig to the U.S. …

The top sausage makers from across the state put their best to the test in the Best of the Wurst competition judged Saturday at the 2013 Iowa State Fair. …

By the end of 2013, livestock owners in Nebraska and surrounding states will have one more packing plant option — this one being in Gordon, Neb., where a former plant will be re-opened. …