TOP STORIES

Beyond Meat Jumps as Rival Cuts Prices -- Market Talk

1047 ET - Beyond Meat shares gain even as rival plant-based meat alternative maker Impossible Foods announces it's cutting prices by 15%, while the fast-growing food niche gets more crowded. Beyond says it's resisted broadly discounting its pea protein-based burgers and sausages, and has kept signing up new restaurant clients like Starbucks and KFC. Impossible last week said its burger was named the preferred plant-based burger of Disney's parks and cruise ships. Beyond Meat shares recently 4.7% higher. (jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)

STORIES OF INTEREST

Plant-Based Meat Makers Compete on Price -- Update

Makers of plant-based meat alternatives are cutting prices, as startups compete with food-industry giants for slices of the rapidly growing market.

Impossible Foods Inc. said Tuesday that it had reduced wholesale prices for its products by 15%. Big food companies -- including Nestle SA, Smithfield Foods Inc., Cargill Inc. and food distributor Sysco Corp. -- have recently set plans to introduce their own meat-free patties, sometimes at lower prices than those charged by startups, like Impossible, that helped popularize plant-based products.

McDonald's Strikes Postmates Deal -- Market Talk

0800 ET - McDonald's further expands its delivery service, striking a deal with Postmates. The delivery service will deliver from more than 300 restaurants in the Los Angeles and Dallas areas beginning this week. Uber Technologies' Eats division had an exclusive contract with the burger giant when it first rolled out US delivery in 2017, but it has since added DoorDash and Grubhub as competition for customers grows. More than 10,000 US McDonald's now offer delivery, many through multiple services. (heather.haddon@wsj.com; @heatherhaddon)

Farmer Sentiment Index Up on Optimism About Current Conditions -- Market Talk

14:35 ET - The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer hit record highs on producers' perception of improved current conditions in the agricultural economy. The barometer hit 168 in February, up one point from January and up 18 points since December. The Index of Current Conditions rose 12 points from January to 154. The Index of Future Expectations fell 4 points below the record high set in January to 175. "Almost across the board, producers indicated they were more optimistic about current conditions on their farms and in U.S. agriculture and retained most of the improvement in future expectations exhibited in January," says James Mintert, director of Purdue's Center for Commercial Agriculture. "Optimism about the agricultural trade outlook was underpinned by recent trade agreements and appeared to be the primary driver behind the improvement in sentiment." (michael.dabaie@wsj.com)

Sustainable Agriculture Efforts Will Need Government Backing -- Market Talk

15:53 ET - Efforts by companies in the agricultural sector to create sustainable solutions will need the support of governments, S&P Global Ratings says. Breakthroughs on issues such as greenhouse gas emissions, soil preservation and biodiversity are "unlikely without direct government involvement," the ratings agency says in an article. Multinational companies in the agricultural chemicals and consumer business industries will need "an integrated sustainability strategy to retain their current quality of earnings over the next five to 10 years," adds S&P. It also emphasizes that for such strategies to work "governments worldwide need to take decisive action." Private money already being invested in sustainable agriculture will "be of immediate benefit to certain consumer goods segments in developed markets, and provide policymakers with a wider range of workable solutions," S&P said. (stephen.nakrosis@wsj.com)

FUTURES MARKETS

Cattle Finishes Down After Monday Rally, Hogs Inch Higher -- Market Talk

15:42 ET - Cattle futures on the CME end lower, down 0.1% at $1.101 per pound. This after the futures contract traded up by as much as 2.5 cents per pound more than Monday's close. Meanwhile, hog futures continue to recover after dropping to nearly 62 cents per pound last week. Today's 1.2% uptick puts the April hog contract at 63.55 cents per pound. However, whether or not hogs will rally more this week remains unclear. "This week's harvest is once again projected to come in 5% higher than last year and record large," says Dennis Smith of Archer Financial Services. "If numbers don't drop off, a meaningful upward move in hogs will never materialize--too bad because exports and demand in general have never been better." (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

CASH MARKETS

 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Mar 3 
 
 This report reflects U.S. pork packer processing margins. The margin indices 
are calculated using current cash hog or carcass values and wholesale pork 
cutout values and may not reflect actual margins at the plants. These 
estimates reflect the general health of the industry and are not meant to 
be indicative of any particular company or plant. 
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 
 
Mar  3       +$ 26.25            +$  6.67 
Mar  2       +$ 28.77            +$  8.39 
Feb 28       +$ 22.47            +$  2.91 
 
 
* 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   92.4 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)     Select   93.3 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Tuesday rose 9 cents per hundred pounds, to $206.62, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose $1.54 per hundred pounds, to $202.70. The total load count was 155. Wholesale pork prices fell 80 cents, to $64.84 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 03, 2020 17:34 ET (22:34 GMT)