LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
April 19 2021 - 5:18PM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES
JBS Gains After It Says Will Buy Plant-Based Meat Producer --
Market Talk
1222 ET - Shares of JBS SA, the world's biggest meat packer,
rise after the Brazilian company says it agreed to buy Vivera,
Europe's third-biggest plant-based food producer, for an enterprise
value of 341 million euros, the equivalent of $410M. JBS shares
were up 4.6% in early afternoon trading, while the benchmark
Bovespa stocks index was up 0.3%. The Brazilian company already
offers some plant-based meat substitutes, and the purchase will add
to JBS's product portfolio at a time such substitutes are gaining
in popularity. JBS said it plans to manage Vivera as a standalone
unit with the European company's current management remaining in
place. (jeffrey.lewis@wsj.com)
STORIES OF INTEREST
US Agriculture Watching Direction of Biden Trade Policy --
Market Talk
11:57 ET - The economic conditions for US farmers are stronger
than experts had previously expected, says Tom Halverson, head of
agricultural lender CoBank. Even so, one open question is how the
Biden Administration will handle trade relations going forward.
"It's very unclear how trade policy will go moving forward,"
Halverson says. "What's less clear to me is what they want to
achieve." Specifically, how Biden approaches global trade may
affect export sales of US grains, which is of chief importance to
the market, he says. "What the agricultural sector needs is maximum
access to the most amount of markets throughout the world,"
Halverson says. Grain futures trading on the CBOT are trading
mostly higher. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)
Soybeans Higher on Unfazed Demand
Soybeans for May delivery rose 1.2% to $14.49 3/4 a bushel on
the Chicago Board of Trade Monday, with near-record highs in prices
failing to derail strong demand for exports.
Corn for May delivery rose 1.1% to $5.92 a bushel.
Wheat for July delivery fell 0.2% to $6.53 3/4 a bushel.
Dry Weather Worries Brazil Farmers -- Market Talk
Hot, dry weather in several important grain-producing states in
Brazil is worrying farmers and led agricultural consultancy AgRural
to cut its winter corn crop forecast for this year. The group in
March already cut its forecast for the winter crop, to 80.1M metric
tons, and will announce the result of its current revision before
the end of this month. The country's soybean harvest, meanwhile,
continues to advance and is approaching its end, with work on 91%
of the estimated planted area finished as of March 15, AgRural
says. That was up from 85% a week earlier and slightly behind the
92% mark on the same date last year. (jeffrey.lewis@wsj.com)
FUTURES MARKETS
Hogs Gain to Start Week -- Market Talk
16:04 ET - Lean hog futures finished higher Monday, with the
most-active contract up 2.6% to $1.04325 per pound. Last week's 5%
slide in hog futures may have been an aberration, says Dennis Smith
of Archer Financial. "The settlements on Friday were way out of
whack with the fundamentals," says Smith. "Last week's sharply
lower trade was a trap." Meanwhile, live cattle futures close down
0.5% to $1.186 per pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com, @kirkmaltais)
CASH MARKETS
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Apr 19
This report reflects U.S. pork packer processing margins. The margin indices
are calculated using current cash hog or carcass values and wholesale pork
cutout values and may not reflect actual margins at the plants. These
estimates reflect the general health of the industry and are not meant to
be indicative of any particular company or plant.
Source: USDA, based on Wall Street Journal calculations.
All figures are on a per-head basis.
Date Standard Margin Estimated margin
Operating Index at vertically -
integrated operations
Apr 19 +$ 7.80 +$100.48
Apr 16 +$ 5.29 +$ 96.89
Apr 15 +$ 11.65 +$100.28
* 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 117.1
(Percent of Year-Ago) Select 119.1
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Monday rose 12 cents per
hundred pounds, to $276.17, according to the USDA. Select-grade
prices rose 3 cents per hundred pounds, to $269.13. The total load
count was 91. Wholesale pork prices rose $1.67, to $112.47 a
hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
April 19, 2021 17:03 ET (21:03 GMT)
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