TOP STORIES:

Grains Extend Gains Amid Supply Concerns -- Market Talk

1100 ET - The bulls take over the grain complex, with wheat leading the pack in the CBOT, amid growing doubts about whether the upcoming harvests would meet demand. "The obvious factor being watched is production and if crops sizes will be as large as predicted," says AgriVisor's Karl Setzer. "We are...starting to see more volatility on new crop contracts as buyers want to keep bids attractive enough that new bushels flow into areas of demand rather than into storage facilities," he says. Wheat rises 3.3%, soybeans are up 2% and corn gains 1.4%. (paulo.trevisani@wsj.com; @ptrevisani)

USDA Reports Wheat Export Sale to China -- Market Talk

0919 ET - The rally on wheat futures gets some extra help from China, as the USDA reports flash export sales of 134,000 metric tons of soft red winter wheat for delivery to the Asian country in the current marketing year. The grain's contracts were already rising following strong exports last week and the prospect of harsh summer weather damaging North American crops. The contract for September delivery rises 2.2% to $6.87 a bushel in the CBOT. (paulo.trevisani@wsj.com; @ptrevisani)

STORIES OF INTEREST:

Brazil Farmers Set for Another Record Soybean Harvest in 2021-2022 -- Market Talk

14:01 ET - Brazilian farmers are planning to increase the area planted with soybeans by 2.3% in the 2021-2022 growing season from the previous season, and will produce another record crop, according to agricultural consultancy Safras & Mercado. The larger area, along with an expected increase in productivity, will boost Brazil's soybean crop to 142.2M metric tons of the oilseeds, Safras says. It would be the 15th consecutive year that the planted area for soybeans increased, and the eighth record crop in 10 years, according to information from Brazilian crop agency Conab. Good prices on world markets and strong profitability for farmers are the main reasons for increasing the planted area, Safras says. (jeffrey.lewis@wsj.com)

BrightFarms Recalls Packaged Salad Over Potential Salmonella Concerns

BrightFarms late Thursday said it will voluntarily recall some of its packaged salad greens that were produced in a Rochelle, Ill., greenhouse farm over concerns of potential salmonella contamination.

The potentially affected products were sold in a few Walmart Inc. stores in Illinois and Iowa, as well as several other grocery stores in Illinois, Wisconsin and Indiana. Retailers were asked to remove all of the affected products from their shelves, the company said.

THE MARKETS:

Hog Futures Rise, Cattle Falls as Meat Production Increases -- Market Talk

14:25 ET - Hogs futures rise 1.3% while live cattle slides 0.8%. The USDA estimates this week's beef production at 531M pounds, up 14% from last week, while pork rose to 479M pounds, up 18%. Slaughtering also increased by 14% and 19%, respectively, on a weekly basis. In total, meat production so far in 2021 is 2.4% higher than a year ago, the USDA says. Late next week, the agency will release monthly data on livestock slaughter and storage, plus the cattle on feed report. (paulo.trevisani@wsj.com; @ptrevisani)

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

07-16-21 1732ET