The nation’s largest pork producer says it will buy the second largest pork producer. Smithfield Foods of Smithfield, Virgina, has announced it will buy Premium Standard Farms of Kansas City for $674-Million in cash and stock. Smithfield is the leading processor of fresh pork and processed meats in the United States. Premium Standard is the second-largest producer and ranks sixth as a pork processor. Premium Standard runs several huge hog farms in northern Missouri. Various politicians have called on the federal government to investigate the purchase to see if it violates anti-trust laws.