commodities

The meat market

Supplies of beef and pork are just starting to rebound, as ranchers and hog farmers slowly ramp up production in step with moderately increased demand. But expect prices to remain elevated through the end of the year; about 10 to 20 percent higher than they were in 2009, says Bill Lapp, commodity expert and president of Advanced Economic Solutions in Omaha, Nebraska.

USDA Boosts Funding for BSE Research and Food Safety

WASHINGTON, DC - Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns announced last week that almost $2 million in funding has been redirected to enhance research on bovine...

The last few years have seen a subtle to seismic shift in the way restaurants source fruits and vegetables. From planting rooftop gardens to partnering with farmers, chefs and operators are making a big effort to be local and seasonal. But 2011 is shaping up as an even more produce-centric year.

We've rooted around beneath the sales reps, the pricing strategies and the cost structures of foodservice distributors to see how things really work.

Certain agricultural products are staples in your restaurant kitchen. Commodities like meat, nuts, dairy foods, potatoes and other types of produce show up regularly on your order list. Here’s a brief overview of how these ingredients are trending, gleaned from information provided by the commodity boards that serve the growers, ranchers and farmers of these products.

In those 34 years, the amount of chicken that consumers ate increased from 27.4 pounds per person to 59.2 pounds of boneless, edible weight. The USDA noted...

Watching episodes of Hell’s Kitchen, the average viewer comes away thinking that cursing, screaming and ruthless bullying is the only way to run a successful restaurant kitchen. True, many chefs are as hellish as Gordon Ramsay appears on TV, routinely leaving their staff quaking in their clogs. But some industry veterans are embracing a kinder, gentler management style—and finding it has its place.

"Creation Gardens is a very unique company that has been bringing outstanding quality and value to its customers over the past nine years," Russ Wingo,...

DES MOINES, IA (April 26, 2012 - Boston Globe)—The announcement that mad cow disease was spotted in a California cow drew a rapid response this week from...

Basically, without delving into the reasons, what can’t be manufactured or sourced in the United States can surely be located anywhere on earth and...

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