LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
May 22 2019 - 5:59PM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES
USDA Cold Storage Report Meets Livestock Expectations -- Market
Talk
16:47 ET - The USDA released its monthly Cold Storage report
this afternoon, which contained little in the way of surprises for
traders. Frozen beef supplies were down roughly 50M pounds from
last year, totaling 430.3M pounds. Frozen pork was also down from
last year, but up from the previous month, totaling 621.9M pounds.
"I imagine we will continue to keep the freezers full in
anticipation of supplying the global pork shortage," says Craig
VanDyke of Top Third Ag Marketing regarding the report's pork
figures. VanDyke says that traders are holding out for this
stockpiling of pork to pay dividends if the Chinese begin
purchasing more US pork--something that they hope tomorrow's export
sales report will show. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)
China Facing Growing Threat to its Crops -- Market Talk
10:31 ET - On top of African swine fever decimating its pig
herds, China is contending with another pest that is infiltrating
its crops--the fall armyworm. According to Chinese state-run news,
the armyworm infestation has grown to hit 14 provinces and regions,
and has been found on 92,000 hectares of farmland in China. By
comparison, China grows corn on roughly 42M hectares of land. The
USDA issued a report on the armyworm late last month, saying the
worm was a threat to a multitude of cash crops including wheat,
corn and soybeans, and has no natural predators. "Experts report
that there is a high probability that the pest will spread across
all of China's grain production area within the next 12 months,"
the USDA says in the report. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com;
@kirkmaltais)
Land O'Lakes Leader Isn't Scared of Meatless Food Explosion
Beth Ford, chief executive of Land O'Lakes Inc., one of the
largest dairy producers in the U.S., has never tried the meatless
Impossible Burger but is open to it.
Inventions like the chef-endorsed plant-based burgers are part
of a solution to stubborn problems in the nation's food system --
not a threat to the meat and dairy industries, she said at The Wall
Street Journal's Future of Everything Festival on Wednesday.
STORIES OF INTEREST
Del Monte Vegetable Trays Tied to 2nd Foodborne Illness Outbreak
-- Market Talk
16:14 ET - Del Monte vegetable trays are in the spotlight again
after the FDA for the second time in two years probes a foodborne
illness outbreak linked to the items. FDA says it's inspecting an
Illinois facility of Del Monte's that produced vegetable trays that
have been linked to four salmonella infections in Wisconsin and
Minnesota. The trays were sold at Kwik Trip convenience stores in
the two states. Last year, the company's vegetable trays were tied
to a multistate outbreak of cyclosporiasis that sickened 250 people
in four Midwestern states. The two outbreaks aren't related,
according to FDA, which says Kwik Trip has voluntarily removed all
Del Monte vegetable trays from their stores. (jesse.newman@wsj.com;
@jessenewman13)
FUTURES MARKETS
Livestock Futures Fall as Supply Grows -- Market Talk
15:03 ET - Livestock futures finished trading day down on the
CME, with July lean hog futures down 0.4% to 91.050 cents per pound
and August live cattle futures down 0.3% to $1.07950 per pound.
According to Steiner Consulting Group, analysts believe that
placements of cattle on feed were 13.5% higher than a year ago,
which is one factor explaining the weakness of the cattle contract.
Since the August contract hit a high of $1.22325 per pound in late
March, it has slipped 12%. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)
CASH MARKETS
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - May 22
All figures are on a per-head basis.
Date Standard Margin Estimated margin
Operating Index at vertically -
integrated operations
May 22 +$ 3.14 +$ 49.59
May 21 +$ 2.43 +$ 54.60
May 20 +$ 1.85 +$ 53.16
* 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 95.8
(Percent of Year-Ago) Select 100.0
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Wednesday rose 17 cents per
hundred pounds, to $219.75, according to the USDA. Select-grade
prices fell 77 per hundred pounds, to $205.81. The total load count
was 172. Wholesale pork prices fell $2.33, to $83.47 a hundred
pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 22, 2019 17:44 ET (21:44 GMT)
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