LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
23 March 2018 - 8:38AM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES
Suppliers Fill Their Freezers with Pork -- Market Talk
15:16 ET - Pork supplies are growing. The USDA says that stocks
of pork in commercial freezers rose to 614.9M pounds in February,
up 6% from the previous month and 8% from a year earlier. Stocks of
frozen pork bellies, used to make bacon, rose 188% from the same
time last year. Meatpackers are butchering more hogs than ever
after constructing new slaughterhouses and expanding capacity.
While demand for pork has generally been strong, it hasn't entirely
offset growing supplies. Physical hog and pork prices have recently
been under pressure as a result. Frozen beef stocks fell from the
previous month and a year earlier. (benjamin.parkin@wsj.com;
@b_parkyn)
Senate Bill Seeks Farm Bill Conservation Reforms -- Market
Talk
14:20 ET - Let the Farm Bill jousting begin. Lawmakers have yet
to unveil a draft of the nation's main legislation governing
agriculture and nutrition policy, but efforts have already begun to
reform one of its key conservation programs. Senators Cory Booker
(D-NJ) and Mike Lee (R-UT) are out with a bill they say would
improve a program that funds farmers who adopt environmentally
friendly practices. Analysis of the current program shows that
between 2009 and 2016, more than $1B, or over 20% of funds, went to
practices that had little environmental benefit. The bill comes
amid growing concerns over water quality and soil health in the US
Farm Belt, and would direct more monies to small farmers.
(jesse.newman@wsj.com; @jessenewman13)
STORIES OF INTEREST
Darden Tops Earnings Estimates, Raises Guidance -- Earnings
Review
Darden Restaurants Inc. (DRI) reported its third-quarter
earnings Thursday. Here is what you need to know:
REVENUE: Revenue increased 13.3% to $2.13 billion, with 11.3%
growth coming from 154 new Cheddar's Scratch Kitchen restaurants
and 34 other net new restaurants. That was just under the $2.14
billion in revenue analysts expected.
EARNINGS: The owner of Olive Garden and Capital Grille reported
net income from continuing operations of $218.5 million. On an
adjusted basis, which excludes debt retirement costs, impacts of
the new U.S. tax law and Cheddar's integration expenses, the
company earned $1.71 a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters
had expected adjusted earnings of $1.64 a share.
Can Big Food Convince Grocers To Raise Prices? -- Market
Talk
16:41 ET - Wall Street analysts say the big question for food
makers like General Mills and Conagra Brands will be whether they
can get grocery stores on board with price increases to offset
higher costs for ingredients and shipping. General Mills and
Conagra both told investors this week that their profitability was
hurt in the latest quarter because of these costs, and that they
plan to raise some prices. However, big retailers like Kroger want
to keep prices low. Raising prices may have been easier in the
past, when sales trends "were not as anemic as today and retailers
were under less pressure from online players and deep discounters,"
said Barclays analyst Andrew Lazar. "But, in our view, pricing has
never been easy," he added. (annie.gasparro@wsj.com)
FUTURES MARKETS
Hog Futures Fall to Multimonth Low
Hog futures tumbled to the lowest point in four months on
Thursday.
Prices for wholesale pork and physical pigs have fallen recently
as growing supplies of slaughter-ready hogs offset otherwise solid
demand, both domestically and abroad. Meatpackers built new
slaughterhouses in recent months and added extra capacity, allowing
them to kill swine at a record pace.
April-dated lean hog futures fell 2% to 61.325 cents a pound at
the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Hog contracts for May fell
3.1%.
CASH MARKETS
Zumbrota, Minn Hog Steady At $36.00 - Mar 22
Barrow and gilt prices at the Zumbrota, Minn., livestock market are
steady at $36.00 per hundredweight.
Sow prices are steady. Sows weighing 400-450 pounds are at
$32.00-$34.00, 450-500 pounds are $32.00-$34.00 and those over 500 pounds
are $36.00-$38.00.
The day's total run is estimated at 150 head.
Prices are provided by the Central Livestock Association.
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Mar 22
All figures are on a per-head basis.
Date Standard Margin Estimated margin
Operating Index at vertically -
integrated operations
*
Mar 22 +$29.63 +$ 20.87
Mar 21 +$28.96 +$ 22.83
Mar 20 +$29.13 +$ 24.35
* 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 101.3
(Percent of Year-Ago) Select 101.0
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Thursday rose 83 cents per
hundred pounds, to $225.21, according to the USDA. Select-grade
prices rose $1.63 per hundred pounds, to $218.02. The total load
count was 114. Wholesale pork prices fell 91 cents, to $70.11 a
hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
March 22, 2018 17:23 ET (21:23 GMT)
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