LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
March 02 2021 - 5:55PM
Dow Jones News
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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