TOP STORIES

U.S. Hog Herd Growing More Than Expected, Despite Falling Prices

The number of hogs and pigs on U.S. farms in the third quarter was much larger than analysts expected, according to federal data released Friday, suggesting that the nation's herd is continuing to expand even in the face of record-large pork production.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported the total herd size at 70.851 million head, up 2% from last year, and the largest on record for the Sept. 1 inventory. That compared to 69.946 million hog and pigs predicted by a Wall Street Journal survey of analysts' estimates.

USDA Issues Meat Label Guidance To Ward Against Misleading Claims -- Market Talk

13:08 ET - USDA proposes definitions and requirements for commonly used marketing claims on packages of meat, such as "grass fed" and "humanely raised," which critics of the agency previously said were approved without all of the necessary supporting documentation. Under the new guidance, meat producers will need to provide a greater level of detail to explain how animals are raised, as well as tracked through the supply chain, to ensure "antibiotic free" animals are not being mixed with those that have been given the drugs, for example. USDA will collect comments on the guidance for 60 days, it said. (kelsey.gee@wsj.com; @kelseykgee)

STORIES OF INTEREST

Argentina, US Working To Open Beef Trade -- Market Talk

12:12 ET - Argentine agricultural officials met with their counterparts at the US Department of Agriculture this week in an effort reopen the US market to Argentine beef, Argentina's government says. American food safety experts will visit Argentina in November to push the process forward. Argentina was once a beef exporting powerhouse, but after having sanitary problems more than a decade ago production and exports declined. A local ban on beef exports then pummeled the domestic cattle industry, causing Argentina to lose export markets as tiny neighbors Paraguay and Uruguay picked up the slack and surpassed it as key beef exporters. (taos.turner@wsj.com; @taos)

US Farm Bins Are Straining -- Market Talk

13:17 ET - With US wheat, corn and soybean stocks all at multi-year highs, farmers may be under pressure to start selling ahead of the expected bumper harvest, even following recent price declines. Ann Duignan at JPMorgan says US on-farm grain storage capacity of 13.2B bushels may come under increasing strain as the new crop arrives, with low sales prices adding to the existing pressure on farm incomes. That's normally poor for equipment makers like Deere (DE) and Valmont (VMI), though the sector up Friday as part of the broader rally in industrials. (doug.cameron@wsj.com; @dougcameron)

Grain Traders Rise on Crop Report -- Market Talk

13:11 ET - Shares of major grain traders and processors gained after USDA report projecting robust stockpiles of corn, soybeans and wheat, extending a period of plentiful, cheap agricultural commodities that translates to lower prices for companies that buy and ship grain and make it into food ingredients and animal feed. Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) recently up 1.5% at $42.17, while smaller rival Bunge (BG) rises 0.9% to $59.26. Makers of seeds and pesticides like Monsanto (MON) and DuPont (DD), which have suffered as crop prices trundle along at low levels, aren't much changed after the USDA report. (jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)

FUTURES MARKETS

U.S. Cattle Futures Plunge to Lowest Closing Price in Six Years

CHICAGO--U.S. cattle futures on Friday plunged to the lowest closing price in six years, as investors eyed a growing supply of livestock and meat forecast to hit the market this fall.

October cattle futures tumbled by the exchange-imposed daily limit of 3 cents, or 1.5%, to 98.90 cents a pound, the lowest settlement for a front-month contract since November 8, 2010, and a 7.8% drop on the week. December live-cattle futures also slid by the daily limit of 3 cents to $1.00125 a pound. Front-month October feeder-cattle futures declined 4.35 cents, or 3.4%, to $1.2315 a pound.

CASH MARKETS

 
 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Sep 30 
 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically 
                             integrated operations 
                                      * 
Sep 30       +$47.84             +$ 16.63 
Sep 29       +$46.27             +$ 15.94 
Sep 28       +$48.44             +$ 19.27 
 
* 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   90.3 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)     Select   87.5 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Friday fell $2.42 per hundred pounds, to $187.35, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices fell $1.07 per hundred pounds, to $177.87. The total load count was 126. Wholesale pork prices rose 32 cents, to $73.47 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 30, 2016 17:39 ET (21:39 GMT)