LIVESTOCK HIGHLIGHTS: Top Stories of the Day

TOP STORIES

 
Tyson Beef Plant in Kansas to Resume Operations in December 

Tyson Foods Monday said a beef plant in western Kansas that was partially destroyed by a fire in August will resume operations next month. The Springdale, Ark., meat giant said reconstruction of the facility in Holcomb is near completion.

 
California Company Recalls 34,222 Pounds of Ground Beef Products on Salmonella Concerns 

Central Valley Meat Co., based in Hanford, Calif., is recalling about 34,222 pounds of ground beef packages due to salmonella risks, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service. FSIS said an investigation determined a link between Central Valley products and an illness cluster involving the Dublin strain of salmonella. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Nov. 1 that one death had been reported, with 10 reported cases.

 
Jefferies to Sell Remaining National Beef Stake to Marfrig 

Jefferies Financial Group said it agreed to sell its remaining 31% stake in National Beef Inc. to Marfrig Global Foods in a deal that will generate a total of $970 million in cash. The New York financial-services company said it will receive $860 million from Marfrig and $110 million in final distributions from National Beef.

STORIES OF INTEREST

 
Restaurant Brands, Tyson, Kraft Heinz Need to Look at Deforestation Risks: CDP -- Market Talk 

1523 GMT - Burger King-owner Restaurant Brands, Tyson Foods and Kraft Heinz are the worst-ranked major consumer goods companies for exposure to deforestation risks, according to nonprofit CDP. The companies receive a poor rank due to exposure to intensive animal farming and weak disclosure of exposure to soft commodities linked to deforestation, which include soy, palm oil and beef. "Companies like Tyson Foods and Restaurant Brands have indirect exposure to soymeal through animal ingredients and there is insufficient labeling for animal derivatives in consumer goods", says CDP. It says these forest risk commodities can represent up to 40% of procurement costs, adding that margins could be "significantly" impacted by price volatility or increased differences in the prices of certified and non-certified products. (maitane.sardon@wsj.com)

 
Beyond Meat Is Shaking Up the Meat Industry. Animal-Health Stocks Could Take a Hit, Too. -- Barrons.com 

Wall Street has high hopes for the alternative meat industry. If analysts are correct and the world does eat less animal-based protein -- in turn switching to products made by highflying start-ups such as Beyond Meat -- other industries will undoubtedly be affected. In the case of Beyond Meat (ticker: BYND), Wall Street has already been wondering whether traditional protein producers, such as Tyson Foods or Sanderson Farms, will face demand destruction. But brokerage firm UBS has another idea about an industry which could face headwinds because of Beyond and its peers -- animal health.

FUTURES MARKETS

 
Hogs Stay Down, Cattle Inches Up -- Market Talk 

15:28 ET - Lean hog futures on the CME fell 2.5% on Monday, with the February contract falling to 70.225 cents per pound. Live cattle futures, meanwhile, were up 0.1% to $1.251 per pound. For hogs, futures are down 6.1% since the start of the month, as hopes of a sudden windfall of Chinese demand for pork haven't materialized. Instead, Chinese buyers appear to more interested in buying other kinds of meat such as poultry -- and buying pork from places other than the US. Meanwhile, cattle futures are continuing to inch up, with the February contract up for three consecutive sessions but up only 0.9% in that timeframe. (kirk.maltais@wsj.com; @kirkmaltais)

CASH MARKETS

 
Estimated U.S. Pork Packer Margin Index - Nov 18 
 
Source: USDA, based on Wall Street Journal calculations 
All figures are on a per-head basis. 
 
*USDA revised 
 
Date     Standard Margin       Estimated margin 
         Operating Index         at vertically - 
                             integrated operations 
 
Nov 18       +$ 95.25            +$ 60.86 
Nov 15       +$ 91.14*           +$ 57.72* 
Nov 14       +$ 90.26            +$ 55.51 
 
*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  112.3 
      (Percent of Year-Ago)     Select  109.1 
 
USDA Boxed Beef, Pork Reports 

Wholesale choice-grade beef prices Monday fell $1.68 per hundred pounds, to $239.12, according to the USDA. Select-grade prices rose $1.26 per hundred pounds, to $215.59. The total load count was 103. Wholesale pork prices rose $1.46, to $88.71 a hundred pounds, based on Omaha, Neb., price quotes.