Pork

Agricultural students at Belvidere North High School learn a variety of skills, including how to raise and care for quail and chickens.

When you pick up fresh pork chops from behind the glass at Mariano’s, you can be sure the product came from a farm that does not use gestation crates — metal enclosures so small the pigs kept in them can’t turn around.

USDA’s quarterly hogs and pigs report indicates farmers plan to trim the size of the herd as market losses continue to pile up.