LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day
October 26 2020 - 5:42PM
Dow Jones News
TOP STORIES
Marfrig, ADM-Backed JV Joins Plant-Based Fray -- Market Talk
1229 ET - Two of the world's top big-agriculture companies are
taking the startup route to tap the plant-based foods surge.
Marfrig, one of the world's biggest beef companies, and Archer
Daniels Midland, a top supplier of animal feed, are formally
launching a 70-30 joint venture called PlantPlus Foods that will
make pea protein-based products, drawing on ADM's ingredients and
crop-processing technology, and Marfrig's burger production and
distribution network. Chicago-based PlantPlus will go up against
entrenched players Beyond Meat and Impossible Foods, as well as big
food-backed efforts from Nestle, Tyson Foods and Hormel Foods.
(jacob.bunge@wsj.com; @jacobbunge)
Dunkin' Brands in Talks to be Acquired by Arby's Parent
The parent of Dunkin' and Baskin-Robbins said it has held early
talks to go private in an acquisition by Inspire Brands, whose
portfolio includes Arby's, Buffalo Wild Wings and Jimmy John's
chains.
The acquisition offer comes as the coffee, doughnut and ice
cream chain has wrestled with lower sales due to the Covid-19
pandemic. The company in late July said it would close around 800
U.S. locations that had low sales volumes and were mostly
unprofitable before the pandemic.
STORIES OF INTEREST
USDA Confirms Farmers Paid $7B in Aid -- Market Talk
14:13 ET - US farmers have received over $7B in aid as part of
the second round of coronavirus-relief payments, the USDA says.
"America's agriculture communities are resilient, but still face
many challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic," says Agriculture
Secretary Sonny Perdue. "These payments directed by President Trump
will continue to help this critical industry recoup some of their
losses from ongoing market disruptions and associated costs."
Farmers say aid payments from the US government have been an
important cushion keeping many from otherwise declaring bankruptcy.
According to the USDA, the Farm Service Agency has approved more
than 443,000 applications, with the top five states for payments
being Iowa, Nebraska, Minnesota, Illinois and Kansas.
(kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)
Germany's Restaurant Sector Is Hard-Hit by Coronavirus Crisis --
Market Talk
0821 GMT - The measures recently taken to contain the pandemic
in Germany, which include regional lockdowns, social contact
restrictions and curfews, are once again hitting restaurants
particularly hard, German statistics office Destatis says. The
sector has recorded substantial declines since businesses had to
close in March because of the virus, with turnover in real terms
down 40.5% in the March-August period compared with the same period
a year earlier, Destatis says. The largest monthly year-on-year
decrease of turnover was recorded in April, when it fell 68%. Since
then, business has been gradually recovering. In August, turnover
in restaurants was only 22% lower on the year, according to
Destatis. (maria.martinez@wsj.com)
FUTURES MARKETS
Cattle Futures Steady as US Herd Rises -- Market Talk
15:28 ET - Live cattle futures trading on the CME finish
slightly lower, down 0.2% to $1.034 per pound. According to the
USDA's cattle on feed report released following the market's close
Friday, as of October 1 the total inventory of US cattle in
feedlots with +1000 head capacity was estimated at 11.72M head,
429,000 head or 3.8% higher than a year ago. However, livestock
traders think that cattle weights are trending higher, which may
lead to higher cattle head counts in future reports. "We think
current fed weights are now as much as 3% above year ago levels,"
says Steiner Consulting Group. Meanwhile, lean hog futures closed
up 1.1% to 67.75 cents per pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com;
@kirkmaltais)
CASH MARKETS
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Oct 26
Source: USDA, based on Wall Street Journal calculations
All figures are on a per-head basis.
Date Standard Margin Estimated margin
Operating Index at vertically -
integrated operations
Oct 26 +$ 55.10 +$ 68.01
Oct 23 +$ 60.18 +$ 69.79
Oct 22 +$ 71.75 +$ 84.67
* 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 92.2
(Percent of Year-Ago) Select 94.3
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports
Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Monday rose 34 cents per
hundred pounds, to $207.83, according to the USDA. Select-grade
prices fell $2.91 per hundred pounds, to $188.49. The total load
count was XXX. Wholesale pork prices fell 83 cents, to $90.70 a
hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
October 26, 2020 17:27 ET (21:27 GMT)
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