TOP STORIES

JBS Gains After It Says Will Buy Plant-Based Meat Producer -- Market Talk

1222 ET - Shares of JBS SA, the world's biggest meat packer, rise after the Brazilian company says it agreed to buy Vivera, Europe's third-biggest plant-based food producer, for an enterprise value of 341 million euros, the equivalent of $410M. JBS shares were up 4.6% in early afternoon trading, while the benchmark Bovespa stocks index was up 0.3%. The Brazilian company already offers some plant-based meat substitutes, and the purchase will add to JBS's product portfolio at a time such substitutes are gaining in popularity. JBS said it plans to manage Vivera as a standalone unit with the European company's current management remaining in place. (jeffrey.lewis@wsj.com)

STORIES OF INTEREST

US Agriculture Watching Direction of Biden Trade Policy -- Market Talk

11:57 ET - The economic conditions for US farmers are stronger than experts had previously expected, says Tom Halverson, head of agricultural lender CoBank. Even so, one open question is how the Biden Administration will handle trade relations going forward. "It's very unclear how trade policy will go moving forward," Halverson says. "What's less clear to me is what they want to achieve." Specifically, how Biden approaches global trade may affect export sales of US grains, which is of chief importance to the market, he says. "What the agricultural sector needs is maximum access to the most amount of markets throughout the world," Halverson says. Grain futures trading on the CBOT are trading mostly higher. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

Soybeans Higher on Unfazed Demand

Soybeans for May delivery rose 1.2% to $14.49 3/4 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade Monday, with near-record highs in prices failing to derail strong demand for exports.

Corn for May delivery rose 1.1% to $5.92 a bushel.

Wheat for July delivery fell 0.2% to $6.53 3/4 a bushel.

Dry Weather Worries Brazil Farmers -- Market Talk

Hot, dry weather in several important grain-producing states in Brazil is worrying farmers and led agricultural consultancy AgRural to cut its winter corn crop forecast for this year. The group in March already cut its forecast for the winter crop, to 80.1M metric tons, and will announce the result of its current revision before the end of this month. The country's soybean harvest, meanwhile, continues to advance and is approaching its end, with work on 91% of the estimated planted area finished as of March 15, AgRural says. That was up from 85% a week earlier and slightly behind the 92% mark on the same date last year. (jeffrey.lewis@wsj.com)

FUTURES MARKETS

Hogs Gain to Start Week -- Market Talk

16:04 ET - Lean hog futures finished higher Monday, with the most-active contract up 2.6% to $1.04325 per pound. Last week's 5% slide in hog futures may have been an aberration, says Dennis Smith of Archer Financial. "The settlements on Friday were way out of whack with the fundamentals," says Smith. "Last week's sharply lower trade was a trap." Meanwhile, live cattle futures close down 0.5% to $1.186 per pound. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com, @kirkmaltais)

CASH MARKETS 


 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Apr 19 
 
 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 
 
Apr 19       +$  7.80            +$100.48 
Apr 16       +$  5.29            +$ 96.89 
Apr 15       +$ 11.65            +$100.28 
 
* 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  117.1 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)      Select  119.1 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Monday rose 12 cents per hundred pounds, to $276.17, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose 3 cents per hundred pounds, to $269.13. The total load count was 91. Wholesale pork prices rose $1.67, to $112.47 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

04-19-21 1703ET