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Tyson Takes Stake in Cultured Meat Startup

Tyson Foods Inc. has invested in a startup that grows meat from animal cells, a bet on alternatives to chicken farms and cattle feedlots.

Tyson on Monday said it had purchased a minority stake in Memphis Meats Inc., a Bay Area company developing technology to produce meat using cell-culture technology. Memphis has produced a beef meatball and a chicken strip so far, though the company says it likely will be several years before its products are sold at stores and restaurants.

Cell-Cultured Meat Backers See Boost from Tyson -- Market Talk

14:53 ET - Some vegans and consumer groups see cell culture-developed meat as a way to replace the farms, feedlots and slaughterhouses that helped build Tyson Foods into the biggest U.S. meatpacker. But following Tyson's investment in Memphis Meats, one of the startups pursuing the technology, proponents hope Tyson will help shepherd the still-nascent "cultured meat" to consumers' dinner plates. "No company in the world is better positioned to take clean meat global than Tyson," said Alison Rabschnuk, corporate engagement head for the Good Food Institute, which promotes alternatives to conventionally produced meat. A Tyson spokesman says its collaboration with Memphis is still new and the company will discuss its role with Memphis in the months ahead. (jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)

STORIES OF INTEREST

McDonald's to Report Amid Bullish Expectations -- Earnings Preview

McDonald's Corp. is scheduled to announce its fourth-quarter earnings before the market opens on Tuesday. Here's what you need to know:

EARNINGS FORECAST: Net income of $1.59 a share is expected, compared with $1.44 a share a year earlier, according to FactSet.

SAME-STORE SALES AND REVENUE FORECAST: McDonald's is expected to post a 4.9% increase in global same-store sales for the quarter, with a 4.3% increase in the U.S., its biggest market. The company is expected to report revenue of $5.23 billion for the quarter compared with $6.03 billion a year earlier. (The difference largely reflects the sale of company-owned restaurants to franchisees.)

FUTURES MARKETS

Cattle Futures Rally on Higher Physical Prices

Cattle futures rose after a late surge in physical cattle prices last week.

Futures traders spent much of last week trying to anticipate how much meatpackers would pay feedyards for their cattle, with the two groups in a deadlock. When the trade finally kicked off on Friday afternoon, prices came in higher than expected. That sparked a bounce when futures markets reopened on Monday.

Grain Prices Rise on Tough Americas Weather

Grain futures rose to multimonth highs Monday as concerns about weather across the Americas prompted hedge funds to pull out of bets that prices would fall. Soybean contracts also rose.

Weather forecasts for Argentina turned drier over the weekend, with little rainfall expected over the next two weeks. That would lead to stress for around half of the country's corn-and-soybean belt, the Commodity Weather Group said, with the chance of crop loss increasing over that period.

CASH MARKETS

 
Zumbrota, Minn Hog Steady At $44.00 - Jan 29 
 
Barrow and gilt prices at the Zumbrota, Minn., livestock market today 
are steady at $44.00 per hundredweight. 
 
Sow prices are $1.00 higher. Sows weighing 400-450 pounds are at $43.00, 
450-500 pounds are $43.00 and those over 500 pounds are $45.00-$47.00. 
 
The day's total run is estimated at 150 head. 
 
Prices are provided by the Central Livestock Association. 
 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Jan 29 
 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
                                      * 
Jan 29       +$20.88             +$ 45.57 
Jan 26       +$22.51             +$ 45.96 
Jan 25       +$19.26             +$ 44.24 
 
* 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  108.5 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)     Select  108.0 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Monday rose $2.28 per hundred pounds to $209.11, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose $2.30 per hundred pounds to $204.13. The total load count was 84. Wholesale pork prices fell 18 cents to $81.60 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 29, 2018 17:24 ET (22:24 GMT)

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