TOP STORIES

Cattle Supplies Growing Faster Than Expected -- Market Talk

15:12 ET - Cattle supplies continue to swell more quickly than anticipated. The USDA says that the total number of cattle being fattened in feedlots as of Feb. 1 rose to 11.6M head, 8% higher than a year earlier. That was slightly above an average of pre-report estimates. The number of cattle placed in feedlots in January rose well above expectations, however, at 4%. Analysts on average expected to see a 1% increase. That likely means larger supplies of slaughter-ready cattle in the months to come, which could pressure cash-market prices. Cattle marketed in January, or sent to slaughterhouses, rose 6%, in line with expectations. (benjamin.parkin@wsj.com; @b_parkyn)

General Mills to Buy Pet-Food Maker Blue Buffalo For About $8 Billion -- 5th Update

General Mills Inc., burdened with stagnant sales of cereal and yogurt, is paying around $8 billion for a pet-food business to help it generate revenue growth in the U.S.

The Minneapolis-based food conglomerate, which hasn't sold pet food since the 1960s, said Friday it plans to buy Blue Buffalo Pet Products Inc. as it looks for a piece of the rapidly expanding natural pet-food market.

STORIES OF INTEREST

Tyson Foods Shifting Away from Customized Business Applications

Tyson Foods Inc. is working to standardize its business applications and embrace open source software as it works to keep up with its digital-native competitors.

About 55% of the meat company's application stack is custom-developed, "which is kind of unheard of," said Scott Spradley, Tyson's chief technology officer. His team is working on a plan to significantly reduce that number and keep custom apps for "just those things that are distinctly our competitive advantage."

FUTURES MARKETS

Cattle Futures End Week Lower; Await Supply Report -- Market Talk

14:44 ET - Cattle futures fell on Friday ahead of a monthly supply report at 3pm ET. The USDA said that beef export sales of 9,300 metric tons in the week ended Feb 15 were down 10% from the previous week and over 50% from the four-week average. Beef producers are relying on exports to help offload this year's expected record beef production. Lower cash prices for physical cattle this week, meanwhile, have also weighed on the market. CME February live cattle futures fall 0.3% to $1.28 a pound, down 2% for the week. April lean hog contracts rise 0.1% to 71.375 cents a pound. (benjamin.parkin@wsj.com; @b_parkyn)

CASH MARKETS

 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Feb 23 
 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
                                      * 
Feb 23       +$28.92              +$38.95 
Feb 22       +$25.56              +$37.77 
Feb 21       +$25.13              +$37.64 
 
* 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  109.8 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)     Select  108.9 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 
 

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Friday fell 3 cents per hundred pounds, to $218.37, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose 76 cents per hundred pounds, to $212.82. The total load count was 74. Wholesale pork prices rose 55 cents, to $78.52 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

February 23, 2018 17:34 ET (22:34 GMT)