LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
21 June 2021 - 10:51PM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES
Meatpacking Industry Faces Overhaul Push in Washington
The American meatpacking industry faces stricter oversight in
Washington, as lawmakers and regulators push an overhaul of the
$213 billion sector following complaints about meat companies'
alleged influence over markets and farmers.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture is crafting new rules that
would change how companies such as Tyson Foods Inc. and Pilgrim's
Pride Corp. pay chicken farmers, while making it easier for farmers
to pursue disputes against meatpackers, the agency said this month.
On Capitol Hill, Republican and Democratic lawmakers have proposed
legislation that would require beef processors like Cargill Inc.
and JBS USA Holdings Inc. to buy more cattle on open markets, and
set minimum regional prices.
Chicken Producer Sanderson Farms Explores Sale, Sources Say
Poultry giant Sanderson Farms Inc. is exploring a sale,
according to people familiar with the matter, as demand for chicken
products rises.
Sanderson Farms has tapped Centerview Partners for advice on the
potential sale and has attracted interest from suitors including
agricultural investment firm Continental Grain Co., which owns a
smaller chicken processor, the people said. The process may not
result in a sale.
STORIES OF INTEREST
Luby's Selling Luby's Cafeteria Business to Calvin Gin
Affiliate
Luby's Inc. said it is selling its Luby's Cafeteria restaurant
business to a newly formed affiliate of Calvin Gin.
The purchase by the Gin affiliate, to be renamed Luby's
Restaurants Corp. following closing of the transaction, will
include 32 of the existing locations of Luby's restaurants, all in
Texas, and ownership of the Luby's Cafeteria brand.
Cuisine Solutions Recalls Just Egg 'Bites' Due to Incorrect
Ingredient
Cuisine Solutions Inc. is voluntarily recalling some "bites"
products under the plant-based Just Egg brand because a limited
number of packages may contain an incorrect sealed pouch containing
whole-egg and milk products.
The interior plastic pouches are properly labeled to distinguish
the products, the company said.
FUTURES MARKETS
Hog Futures Fall for 4th Straight Session -- Market Talk
15:45 ET - Lean-hog futures on the CME fell for the fourth
straight session, closing down 1.5% to $1.0705 a pound. Weakness in
Chinese hog prices has put pressure on US futures, says Robert
Yawger of Mizuho Securities USA. "Relative weakness in Chinese
demand for US Lean Hogs has crushed the US market in recent days,"
Yawger says, adding that live-hog futures on the Dalian Commodity
Exchange have traded lower for eight weeks in a row. Live-cattle
futures finished down 0.4% to $1.21025. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com,
@kirkmaltais)
CASH MARKETS
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Jun 21
Source: USDA, based on Wall Street Journal calculations.
All figures are on a per-head basis.
Date Standard Margin Estimated margin
Operating Index at vertically -
integrated operations
Jun 21 -$ 33.58 +$103.03
Jun 18 -$ 37.39 +$103.16
Jun 17 -$ 22.25 +$112.53
* 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 150.4
(Percent of Year-Ago) Select 137.9
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Monday fell $2.08 per hundred
pounds, to $321.20, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices fell
$2.15 per hundred pounds, to $281.46. The total load count was 90.
Wholesale pork prices fell 6 cents, to $118.99 a hundred pounds,
based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
June 21, 2021 17:40 ET (21:40 GMT)
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