LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
24 June 2017 - 07:33AM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES
Domestic Cattle Supply Growth Beats Expectations--Market
Talk
15:34 ET - The US cattle herd grew more than expected as of June
1, according to the USDA's monthly cattle-on-feed report. The total
number of cattle being fattened for slaughter climbed to 11.1M head
on June 1, 3% higher than last year. The build up came as amid a
surge in cash cattle prices in earlier this year, said Troy
Vetterkind of Vetterkind Cattle Brokerage, adding that the larger
numbers would likely weigh down values in the months to come. The
number of cattle placed in commercial feedlots also rose 12% to
2.1M head in May, above expectations. The supply of market-ready
cattle in May was also higher than expected at 2M, 9% above the
same time last year. (benjamin.parkin@wsj.com; @b_parkyn)
Brazil Official Promises to Take Necessary Measures to Resume
Beef Exports to U.S. -- Update
SÃO PAULO -- Brazil's agriculture minister promised Friday to
take the measures necessary to reopen the U.S. market after the
U.S. Department of Agriculture suspended imports of Brazilian beef
over concerns about its safety.
The decision by the USDA, announced Thursday, came after Brazil
suspended beef exports to the U.S. from five Brazilian
slaughterhouses. Some of the beef from those abattoirs was found to
have abscesses caused by a vaccine against hoof-and-mouth disease.
Brazil's agriculture ministry said the abscesses aren't a health
risk.
Shares of Brazil Meatpackers JBS, Marfrig, Minerva Decline After
U.S. Suspends Beef Imports
SÃO PAULO--Shares of Brazilian meatpackers JBS SA, Marfrig
Global Foods SA and Minerva SA declined Friday after the U.S.
Department of Agriculture said late Thursday it had suspended
imports of fresh beef from the South American country because of
concerns over its safety.
The decision by the USDA came after Brazil suspended beef
exports to the U.S. from five Brazilian slaughterhouses. Beef from
those abattoirs was found to have abscesses caused by a vaccine
against hoof-and-mouth disease.
Shares of JBS, the world's biggest animal protein producer,
declined 2.2% shortly after the start of trading. Marfrig fell
1.5%, and Minerva shed 2.2%.
STORIES OF INTEREST
Sanderson Farms Defends Its Chicken as 'Natural' -- Market
Talk
14:20 ET - Sanderson Farms (SAFM) comes out swinging against a
lawsuit that claims its chicken contains antibiotics,
pharmaceuticals, steroids and other harmful products. SAFM flatly
rejects the claims with one exception, adding that company
veterinarians on rare occasions prescribe penicillin to treat sick
poultry flocks. However, SAFM says there is a withdrawal period
between the time the medicine is administered and when the flock is
harvested. The groups suing SAFM are seeking a court order
enjoining the company from advertising products as "100% Natural."
SAFM says it plans to continue its marketing campaigns in the
interim. Shares rise 1% to $124.50. (bowdeya.tweh@wsj.com;
@BowKnowsBiz)
A Better Cheddar Benchmark? A Daily Cheese Auction Is Going
Electronic
People wearing colored jackets in Chicago will be shouting at
each other about cheese for the final time on Friday.
A daily 10-minute auction in Chicago that helps set the national
price of cheese is going electronic next week, after being held in
a traditional open-outcry format for decades. CME Group, the
exchange giant that oversees the auction, will run it Friday in its
old form for the last time.
FUTURES MARKETS
Cattle Futures Firmer on Tighter Beef Stocks
CHICAGO--Cattle futures bounced on Friday after a week of
selling that saw prices fall to multimonth lows.
The cattle market got a boost from a U.S. Department of
Agriculture report released Thursday showing a drawdown in frozen
beef stocks in commercial freezers in May. Beef stocks were at
412.9 million pounds, down 10% from April and 11% from the same
time last year.
Cash cattle prices were a "disaster" this week, said Dennis
Smith of Archer Financial Services in Chicago. Packers paid $1.19 a
pound for live cattle on Thursday, according to the USDA, down from
$1.23 earlier in the week. That compares with averages of around
$1.36 a pound two weeks ago.
CASH MARKETS
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Jun 23
All figures are on a per-head basis.
Date Standard Margin Estimated margin
Operating Index at vertically -
integrated operations
*
Jun 23 +$25.00 +$86.08
Jun 22 +$21.22 +$82.92
Jun 21 +$21.89 +$85.07
* 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 110.4
(Percent of Year-Ago) Select 109.3
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Friday fell $3.13 per hundred
pounds, to $239.75, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices fell
20 cents per hundred pounds, to $216.72. The total load count was
85. Wholesale pork prices rose $1.47, to $100.44 a hundred pounds,
based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 23, 2017 17:18 ET (21:18 GMT)
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