LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
March 20 2018 - 5:42PM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES
Tax Law Fix Still Under Negotiation in Congress -- Market
Talk
14:58 ET - A proposal to resolve an error known as the "grain
glitch" in December's tax law remained in limbo Tuesday afternoon
as lawmakers negotiated. There is bipartisan agreement to scale
back the inadvertent tax benefit for farmers who sell to
cooperatives. But Democrats' proposed trade-off -- an expansion of
the low-income housing tax credit -- has met resistance among
Republicans. "It's been dead, revived, dead, revived," said Sen
John Thune (R, SD), who said he hoped a deal could come together
soon. (richard.rubin@wsj.com; @RichardRubinDC)
STORIES OF INTEREST
Dairy Farmers Press FDA on Soy -- Market Talk
11:45 ET - The National Milk Producers Federation is pushing the
Food and Drug Administration to more deeply scrutinize soy
products--in particular soy milk--after the FDA said soy protein
may not be as good for heart health as previously thought. Dairy
producers want the FDA to enforce labeling rules that the group
says prohibit plant-based beverage makers from using the term
"milk," and argue the health claim has benefited "dairy imitators."
The FDA in October proposed to revoke the health claim that
associated soy protein with reduced risk of coronary heart disease,
based on a review of scientific research over the past decade. The
agency is taking comments on that proposal until March 19.
(jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)
Monsanto Spreads Bets on Gene Editing -- Market Talk
10:57 ET - As agriculture companies jockey to develop
gene-editing technologies like Crispr-Cas9 for improving crops,
Monsanto is betting on scientists both inside and outside the
world's largest seed company. Pairwise Plants, a startup focused on
gene editing, aims to develop new corn, soybean, wheat, cotton and
canola varieties exclusively with Monsanto. The deal includes a
$100M investment from Monsanto, which has already taken a minority
stake in Pairwise via its Monsanto Growth Ventures unit, and
Monsanto's global biotechnology head Tom Adams will lead Pairwise
as CEO. (jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)
FUTURES MARKETS
Funds Sour on American Meat
Cattle and hog futures probed new multimonth lows on
Tuesday.
Both markets have tumbled in recent sessions on everything from
domestic oversupply of livestock to concerns that trade tensions
will disrupt global demand for U.S. meat.
CASH MARKETS
Zumbrota, Minn Hog Steady At $36.00 - Mar 20
Barrow and gilt prices at the Zumbrota, Minn., livestock market
are steady at $36.00 per hundredweight. Sow prices are steady. Sows
weighing 400-450 pounds are at $34.00-$36.00, 450-500 pounds are
$34.00-$36.00 and those over 500 pounds are $38.00-$40.00.
The day's total run is estimated at 200 head.
Prices are provided by the Central Livestock Association.
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Mar 20
This report reflects U.S. pork packer processing margins. The margin indices
are calculated using current cash hog or carcass values and wholesale pork
cutout values and may not reflect actual margins at the plants. These
estimates reflect the general health of the industry and are not meant to
be indicative of any particular company or plant.
Source: USDA, based on Wall Street Journal calculations
All figures are on a per-head basis.
Date Standard Margin Estimated margin
Operating Index at vertically -
integrated operations
*
Mar 20 +$29.13 +$ 24.35
Mar 19 +$27.28 +$ 24.09
Mar 16 +$26.94 +$ 25.02
* 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 99.3
(Percent of Year-Ago) Select 100.6
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Tuesday fell $1.52 per
hundred pounds to $223.35, according to the USDA. Select-grade
prices fell 55 cents per hundred pounds to $216.74. The total load
count was 134. Wholesale pork prices rose 12 cents to $71.73 a
hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 20, 2018 17:27 ET (21:27 GMT)
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