TOP STORIES

Corn, Soybean Growth Excels -- Market Talk

16:35 ET - This year's corn and soybean crop continues to excel. USDA says that 78% of the corn crop was in good or excellent condition as of Sunday, giving a 73% good-or-excellent rating to soybeans. Both were up from 67% last year, and largely in line with expectations. Good US weather conditions have set the growing season off to a strong start, with more beneficial rain forecast for the Midwest this and next week. That has in turn pressured prices, though analysts say it's too early to tell how the soybean and corn bounties will look when they're harvested later this year. (benjamin.parkin@wsj.com; @b_parkyn)

Split-Ticket Farm Voters Mull Midterms -Market Talk

16:58 ET - Trade disputes on multiple fronts with major importers of U.S. farm products could become an election matter in farm country as midterms loom. Farmers by and large went for President Trump in 2016, but in the past they've played both sides of the aisle: Democrats have been viewed as friendlier toward biofuel policy and farm support programs, while Republicans favor lower taxes and looser regulation. Michael Petefish, a Minnesota soybean farmer who's voted for both Democrats and Republicans -- including President Trump -- says farmers have considered Republicans reliable on free trade, but "Trump has flipped that script a bit." Soybean futures expiring in November have dropped 11% since the start of the month, ahead of China outlining tariffs on US soybeans last week in response to planned US duties on Chinese goods. (jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)

STORIES OF INTEREST

EU Pursues Trade Talks With Australia in Wake of U.S. Tariffs

BRUSSELS -- The European Union and Australia launched free-trade negotiations Monday, part of a push by U.S. allies world-wide to bolster economic links and counter fallout from President Donald Trump's "America First" policies.

European Trade Commissioner Cecilia Malmstrom arrived this week in Canberra, Australia, advancing the EU's global trade offensive after the Group of Seven summit in Canada that left other Western leaders dismayed about Mr. Trump's protectionist measures.

U.S.-China Trade Standoff Weighs on Stocks

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell Monday as escalating trade tensions between the U.S. and China weighed on investors' appetite for risk.

Last week's back-and-forth over tariffs exacerbated worries among investors that the world's two biggest economies could descend into a trade war.

Concerns about the fate of the North American Free Trade Agreement and tariffs that the Trump administration imposed on European allies also are adding to investor anxiety.

FUTURES MARKETS

Livestock Futures Start Week on Firm Footing -- Market Talk

14:49 ET - Livestock futures were mostly higher as markets rode a seasonal boost. Hot summer temperatures typically slow cattle and hog growth, while demand for red meat picks up ahead of July 4. With physical prices climbing handsomely last week, meatpackers are slowing slaughter activity and producing less pork. Last week's physical trade for cattle, meanwhile, was lighter than usual. Analysts say that packers are well supplied, giving them more leverage to hold out for lower prices in the cash trade. CME July lean hog futures rise 2.5% to 83.725 cents a pound. June live cattle futures fall 0.1% but the more-active August contract rises. (benjamin.parkin@wsj.com; @b_parkyn)

CASH MARKETS

 
Zumbrota, Minn Hog $3.00 Higher at $53.00 - Jun 18 
 
  Barrow and gilt prices at the Zumbrota, Minn., livestock market are 
$3.00 higher at $53.00 per hundredweight. 
 
  Sow prices are $2.00 higher. Sows weighing 400-450 pounds are at $34.00-$36.00, 
450-500 pounds are $34.00-$36.00 and those over 500 pounds are at $38.00-$40.00. 
 
The day's total run is estimated at 100 head. 
 
Prices are provided by the Central Livestock Association. 
 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Jun 18 
 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
                                      * 
Jun 18       -$ 4.26             +$ 49.23 
Jun 15       -$ 6.17             +$ 48.76 
Jun 14       -$10.06             +$ 44.41 
 
* 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   88.5 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)     Select   92.2 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Monday fell 88 cents per hundred pounds, to $220.71, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose $1.47 per hundred pounds, to $204.20. The total load count was 110. Wholesale pork prices rose 22 cents, to $83.30 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

June 18, 2018 17:36 ET (21:36 GMT)