TOP STORIES

 
Meat Stockpiles Jump to Record 2.6B Pounds -- Market Talk 

15:50 ET - US meat stockpiles climbed to a record 2.62B pounds in August, the USDA says, confirming months of concerns that record levels of US meat production are combining with trade hurdles to drive up supplies of beef, pork, chicken and turkey. The level of meat in storage surpasses the previous record by nearly 5%, with across-the-board increases in meat stockpiles -- total pounds of beef in US industrial freezers is up 6% from last year's level, hitting a record 503.4M pounds, while chicken meat separately hits a record 928M pounds, up 19% from August 2017. (jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)

 
McDonald's Restaurant Chief Doug Goare to Retire 

McDonald's Corp. announced changes to its international leadership as Doug Goare, its president of international lead markets and chief restaurant officer, plans to retire at the end of the year. The 66-year-old Mr. Goare is set to retire on Dec. 31 after 40 years at the burger chain, the company said Monday. He was named chief restaurant officer in October 2016.

STORIES OF INTEREST

 
Walmart Requires Lettuce, Spinach Suppliers to Join Blockchain 

Walmart Inc., in a letter to be issued Monday to suppliers, will require its direct suppliers of lettuce, spinach and other greens to join its food-tracking blockchain by Jan. 31. The retailer also will mandate that farmers, logistics firms and business partners of these suppliers join the blockchain by Sept. 30, 2019. The supplier push comes after 18 months of testing the blockchain system from developed by International Business Machines Corp. Tests to trace berries, mangoes, baby food, chicken and other foods on the IBM Food Trust blockchain have produced a more complete view of the food system than under current federal regulations, according to Nestlé SA, Dole Food Co., and other participants in the project.

 
Milk Firms Keep New Zealand Stocks Down -- Market Talk 

0518 GMT - New Zealand's stock benchmark struggled throughout today's trading after spiking to a record high at Friday's close, with investors souring on major milk stocks. The NZX-50 fell 0.4% to 9337.51, though that was near the day's best levels. A2 skidded 5.4% and production partner Synlait slid 4.3% as a2's new CEO sold all of her equity last week, a move said to have occurred for tax reasons. She continues to hold options on additional equity. Helping offset that was telecom firm Spark climbing 1.8% and Fletcher Building rising 0.8%. (kevin.kingsbury@wsj.com; @kevinkingsbury)

 
New Tariffs Bring New Headaches on Top of Higher Costs 

As of 12:01 a.m. Monday, thousands of cargo containers stacked on ships bound for the U.S. and pallets of Chinese products loaded into the cargo holds of airplanes just got more expensive. The 10% levy on the declared value of goods U.S. importers buy from Chinese suppliers will add new complications, along with higher costs, as buyers and sellers across trans-Pacific supply chains complete the nuts-and-bolts of how and when the new tariffs are handled.

FUTURES MARKETS

 
Livestock Futures End Lower -- Market Talk 

15:24 ET - Livestock futures trade lower after last Friday's cattle on feed report showed larger placement numbers than traders expected, experts say. CME hog futures fall 0.7% and cattle futures fall 1.2%. Going into October, Troy Vetterkind of Vetterkind Cattle Brokerage says the cattle market could see tighter supplies, while meat demand "is nothing short of phenomenal." Meanwhile, Mike Seery, president of brokerage Seery Futures, says the growing outbreak of African swine fever abroad could potentially provide an export opportunity for US hog producers. (francesca.fontana@wsj.com; @francescamarief)

CASH MARKETS

 
Zumbrota, Minn Hog $2.00 Higher at $36.00 - Sep 24 
 
  Barrow and gilt prices at the Zumbrota, Minn., livestock market are 
$2.00 higher at $36.00 per hundredweight. 
 
  Sow prices are steady. Sows weighing 400-450 pounds are at $21.00-$23.00, 
450-500 pounds are $21.00-$23.00 and those over 500 pounds are at $24.00-$26.00. 
 
The day's total run is estimated at 100 head. 
 
Prices are provided by the Central Livestock Association. 
 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Sep 24 
 
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 
                                      * 
Sep 24       +$ 31.56            +$ 36.47 
Sep 21       +$ 32.68            +$ 34.62 
Sep 20       +$ 35.56            +$ 35.40 
 
* 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  106.3 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)     Select  102.4 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Monday rose $1.36 per hundred pounds, to $206.16, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose 68 cents per hundred pounds, to $195.39. The total load count was 89. Wholesale pork prices rose 86 cents, to $78.70 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

September 24, 2018 18:02 ET (22:02 GMT)