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Farm groups saved Bayer in court over RoundUp cancer claims. Five days later, Bayer called for tariffs on the ingredient farmers rely on

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Billionaire MacKenzie Scott just donated $20 million to support America’s youth mental health, as a fifth of teens struggle with suicidal thoughts

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Self-made multimillionaire says Canadians 'give no money away' compared with Americans—research shows U.S. giving is more than twice as high
Financecommodity

This is the only commodity to fall more than oil

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Jen Wieczner
Jen Wieczner
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By
Jen Wieczner
Jen Wieczner
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February 19, 2015, 6:30 AM ET
FRANCE-AGRICUTLURE-PIG-FARM
Piglets stand in their enclosure at a pig farm of Label Rouge ("red label") standard in Marigne-Laille in western France on September 7, 2014. The "Label Rouge" is an official certification in France of the superior quality of a food or farmed product. AFP PHOTO/ JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER (Photo credit should read JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER/AFP/Getty Images)Photograph by Jean-François Monier— AFP Photo
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Pity the pig farmer. Over the past seven months, since oil began its precipitous decline, lean hogs were the one major benchmark commodity to fall even further, according to the CME Group. The price of lean hogs—a term referring to butchered pigs regardless of paunch—has sunk 51.3% since the end of June. The drop follows record-high prices this past summer, after a disease called the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus whacked supplies. “The baby pigs were being wiped out at a rate that was never thought possible,” says Phil Flynn, senior market analyst at the Price Futures Group. But the virus subsided surprisingly quickly, and more little piggies started making it to market. The USDA recently revised its projections to show 5.5% growth in pork production this year. Meanwhile, less American pork is being shipped overseas because of slowing international demand, driving a glut. “It’s a perfect storm for pigs,” says Steve Wagner, a market analyst for CHS Hedging. Wagner expects that lean-hog prices will linger at decade lows for a while.

This story is from the March 1, 2015 issue of Fortune.

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