Ag in the News

04/01/2008

National

Cargill acquires turkey processor, will shutter two plants
Cargill Value Added Meats, a division of Wichita, Kan.-based Cargill Meat Solutions, on Monday announced that it has acquired certain assets of turkey processor Willow Brook Foods. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. MORE!

Cargill shifts Booneville production, to start assessing plant damage
More than a week after Cargill Meat Solutions' Booneville, Ark., plant sustained a serious fire, the company on Tuesday may get its first look inside the plant, which smoldered for days after the blaze. MORE!

Tyson outlines sustainability goals
Tyson Foods Inc. issued a new corporate responsibility report outlining the company's progress and goals around issues such as ethics, environmental protection, resource conservation, worker safety and health, food safety and animal well-being. MORE!

Too many pigs push hog futures markets down
USDA's quarterly Hogs and Pigs report on Friday revealed more U.S. hogs than expected, driving hog futures markets down on Monday and not boding well for live hog prices for the rest of 2008. MORE!

Tesco 'pausing for breath' in Fresh & Easy expansion
British supermarket chain Tesco, which garnered plenty of attention with the debut of its Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Markets in California, Arizona and Nevada, now plans to slow down its U.S. expansion plans. MORE!

Hardee's to serve up chicken for breakfast
Quick-service chain Hardee's announced that it is putting a chicken biscuit on its morning menu lineup nationwide to meet the rising consumer interest in breakfast sandwiches. MORE!

Wrap Up

The day after. Overnight values were under pressure. Soybean futures faced heavy followthrough selling in overnight trade. May and July soybean futures were 70-plus cents lower, while November beans were 30 cents lower. Corn futures were 1 to 3 cents lower. Chicago wheat was mostly 16 to 18 cents lower in overnight trade.

Argentine farmers still on strike. Farmers continue to strike in Argentina and there are indications the strike will last until at least Wednesday. The Argentine government offered a deal centered on helping the "small farmer" in Monday's meeting between the two sides, but farmer groups failed to accept the offer.

Ethanol update. Pacific Ethanol, the firm with ties to Bill Gates, said it posted record-high sales in the fourth quarter but also a $14.7 million loss due to higher corn costs and plant construction costs. Meanwhile, Range Fuels of Colorado will today announce $130 million in financing with the funds to go to the first phase of construction on a plant in Georgia that will use wood as the feedstock to produce ethanol.

Rough quarter. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed out the first quarter of 2008 with a 46-point gain for the day but a 7.9% loss for the quarter. That would be the worst performance since the same period in 2002. The tech-heavy Nasdaq posted a slight gain for the day but lost 14.1% for the quarter.