TOP STORIES

Rodents, Rising Illness Count Puts Dent in Chipotle -- Market Talk

15:45 ET - Could Chipotle (CMG) have a worse week? Shares are down another 4% as more bad news dogs the burrito chain. Additional reports of illnesses from the Virginia Chipotle the company closed on Monday have been coming into the local health department and to a web site that tracks food poisoning, but the store has been sanitized and reopened. On Tuesday the company knew of a small number of reports but by late Wednesday night the number had climbed to more than 100 on the web site and to 60 by the health department's count. And customers have reported seeing rodents at a Dallas Chipotle. A company spokesman says a few mice got into the restaurant from a small structural gap which has been repaired. (julie.jargon@wsj.com)

Rural-Economy Health Gauge Tumbles Amid US Drought -- Market Talk

11:50 ET - Farm Belt bankers expect about 15% of US grain farmers to spend more money than they make in 2017, according to a monthly gauge of rural-economy health by Creighton University. That's better than the 19% estimated last July for 2016, though continued low crop prices and adverse weather in the northern Plains are sapping confidence in the farm economy. Creighton's Rural Mainstreet Index, which reflects conditions in 10 states from Wyoming to Illinois, plunged to 40.7 in July, the lowest level since November and the steepest one-month drop on the 0-to-100 scale since 2008. "Drought conditions in portions of the region, combined with weak grain prices, negatively affected economic conditions, and the economic outlook for a large share of bank CEOs this month," said Creighton economist Ernie Goss. (jesse.newman@wsj.com; @jessenewman13)

 
   STORIES OF INTEREST

Nothing Off Limits as Bunge Makes Cuts -- Market Talk

11:59 ET - "There is nothing in this process that is off limits," says Bunge (BG) CEO Soren Schroder, describing the scope of the agribusiness firm's $250M cost-cutting program. BG unveiled the plan late Wednesday as the company and other grain traders struggle through a protracted crop-price slump that's slashed earnings, while speculation swirls over potential consolidation of some of the sector's biggest players, including BG. Schroder says on a conference call that BG will reduce the size of its global operations hubs, streamline global functions across finance and technology and use more "shared services." (jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)

 
   FUTURES MARKETS

Mixed Cash Prices Weigh on Livestock Futures

Livestock futures took a dip on some below-expectation prices in the cash market.

Meatpackers initially paid steady-to-higher prices at the weekly online Fed Cattle Exchange auction on Wednesday, but analysts said that failed to translate into gains in Thursday's follow-up trade.

Packers bought a little under 13,000 cattle for an average of $1.18 a pound live and $1.88 a pound dressed on Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.

 
   CASH MARKETS 
 
Zumbrota, Minn Hog Steady At $56.00 - Jul 20 
 
 Barrow and gilt prices at the Zumbrota, Minn., livestock market today are 
steady at $56.00 per hundredweight. 
 
Sow prices are steady. Sows weighing under 450 pounds are $59.00, 400-450 pounds 
are at $59.00, 450-500 pounds are $59.00 and those over 500 pounds are 
$61.00-$63.00. 
 
The day's total run is estimated at 400 head. 
 
Prices are provided by the Central Livestock Association. 
 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Jul 20 
 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
                                      * 
Jul 20       +$34.42             +$ 92.34 
Jul 19       +$34.42             +$ 93.13 
Jul 18       +$35.50             +$ 93.63 
Jul 17       +$31.56             +$ 92.70 
 
* Based on Iowa State University's latest estimated cost of production. 
A positive number indicates a processing margin above the cost of 
production of the animals. 
 
Beef-O-Meter 
This report compares the USDA's latest beef carcass composite 
values as a percentage of their respective year-ago prices. 
 
                                 Beef 
          For Today             Choice  102.7 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)     Select  101.7 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Thursday fell 8 cents per hundred pounds, to $207.65, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose 9 cents per hundred pounds, to $195.58. The total load count was 169. Wholesale pork prices fell 37 cents, to $103.35 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 20, 2017 17:43 ET (21:43 GMT)

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