TOP STORIES

Farmers Outlook Toward Future Prosperity Fades -- Market Talk

13:27 ET - While US farmers see current market conditions as supportive for agriculture, that optimism is increasingly starting to fade looking toward the next marketing year. According to a survey conducted jointly by Purdue University and the CME Group, an index tracking farmers' future expectations has dropped 20% since hitting a high in October. "Concerns about possible policy changes affecting agriculture, and eroding confidence in future growth in ag trade, continue to weigh on producers' future expectations," says James Mintert, director of Purdue University's center for commercial agriculture. However, farmers view near-term conditions as supportive for agriculture, and land values are seen as on the rise. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

STORIES OF INTEREST

Wheat Rises on Australian Shortfall

Wheat for May delivery rose 2.5% to $6.66 1/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Tuesday amid indications of tighter world wheat supplies.

Soybeans for May delivery rose 1.5% to $14.12 1/2 a bushel.

Corn for May delivery rose 1.3% to $5.45 a bushel.

B&G Offers Sales Forecast, But No More -- Market Talk

1713 ET - B&G Foods, the manufacturer behind products like Green Giant vegetables, Ortega salsas and Clabber Girl baking soda, offers up only a sales forecast for its new fiscal year. The company sees $2.05B to $2.1B in sales for its new year, but says the ongoing pandemic creates too much uncertainty to map out financial expectations with more detail: "Management is not able to fully estimate the impact Covid-19 will have." Sales are expected to be up a bit from $1.97B for full-year 2020, and helped by its recent acquisition of the Crisco oils brand. Shares down 6.5% after-hours. (micah.maidenberg@wsj.com; @MicahMaidenberg)

Ethanol Production Expected to Rebound -- Market Talk

11:31 ET - US ethanol production is expected to rebound this week as the country recovers from the deep freeze that set in the Midwest in previous weeks. Analysts informally surveyed by Dow Jones pegged production anywhere from 688,000 barrels a day to 890,000 barrels a day, which would be an improvement from 658,000 barrels a day reported last week by the EIA. Meanwhile, analysts surveyed believe ethanol inventories will drop in this week's report, down to anywhere from 22.3M barrels to 22.7M barrels, from 22.8M barrels last week. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

FUTURES MARKETS

Hog Futures Finish Lower on Large Kill Concerns -- Market Talk

1501 ET - Although longer-term hog futures are expected to climb based on lower slaughter figures, the rate of slaughter in the US doesn't appear to be slowing down in the near-term, sending hog futures lower on the CME. "The only thing I'm hearing that is negative is talk that the product may edge lower in the wake of last week's large kill," says Dennis Smith of Archer Financials. This afternoon, the USDA estimated daily hog slaughters at 497,000 heads, unchanged from the this time last week nor from this time last year - although kills spanning the past two days are slightly higher versus this time last week. Hog futures finished trading down 2.7% to 85.35 cents per pound, while cattle futures finished up 0.4% to $1.19425 per pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

CASH MARKETS

 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Mar 2 
 
 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  2       +$ 16.88            +$ 67.76 
Mar  1       +$ 16.64            +$ 62.52 
Feb 26       +$ 21.05            +$ 63.76 
 
 
* 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  114.3 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)      Select  113.7 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Tuesday fell $4.35 per hundred pounds, to $234.68, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices fell $1.47 per hundred pounds, to $226.17. The total load count was 112. Wholesale pork prices rose $2.44, to $93.92 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 02, 2021 17:40 ET (22:40 GMT)

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