Meat & Poultry

T-bones, sirloins, filets and strips—these are the beef cuts referred to as “middle meats.” Such steaks make up 12% of the carcass, but represent just under half of its total value. That and the difference in cooking method lead many to believe it’s the only place where beef grades matter. Not according to experts like longtime market reporter Bruce Longo, of Urner Barry, and the data he tracks.

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Pork inventories in the U.S. increased 2.3 percent at the end of February from a year earlier as production gained and exports fell, the government said. …

The Smithfield Packing Company, Inc., a subsidiary of Smithfield Foods, Inc. (NYSE:SFD), announced today that it plans to shift bone-in ham production from its Landover, Maryland, plant to its facilities in North Carolina and Kentucky, and then permanently close the Landover plant by early fall. …

Despite tighter budgets and busier lives, it’s not price or convenience that tops the list for deciding whether to buy beef — it’s taste. The most recent Consumer Beef Index, based on a Beef Checkoff-sponsored survey, showed an impressive 88% of consumers polled said when choosing between beef, chicken, pork and fish, a great tasting product was very or extremely important. …

The Senate has moved to provide more money to keep meat and poultry inspectors on the job. The amendment by Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor of Arkansas is aimed at preventing intermittent closures of meatpacking plants across the country that would be forced by automatic spending cuts that started to take effect this month. …