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)

Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.