Ag in the News

10/12/2007

National and International

Minn. family suing ConAgra over pot pies
A Minnesota family on Thursday filed a lawsuit against ConAgra Foods Inc. alleging that the company's pot pies sickened their baby daughter. MORE!

Yum Brands seeks to boost Pizza Hut sales with chicken wings
Louisville, Ky.-based Yum Brands, parent of the Pizza Hut chain, hopes to increase sales for the restaurant by boosting the number of franchises with Wing Street chicken-wing operations. MORE!

IPE introduces buyer connection program
The U.S. Poultry & Egg Association announced that it will initiate a new program that will allow buyers and suppliers to meet in a neutral environment during the 2008 International Poultry Expo. MORE!

Chili's adds spice to new ad campaign, rib offerings
Dallas-based dining chain Chili's announced that it is launching three new Baby Back Ribs flavors, along with a brand new advertising tagline to reach out to consumers. MORE!

Wrap Up

USDA crop update this morning. Traders are expecting USDA to increase both its corn and soybean crop estimates based on pre-report trade expectations. The average trade guess puts the corn crop at 13.459 billion bu., 151 million bu. above September, while the soybean crop is seen at 2.648 billion bu., up 29 million bu. from September.

Supply & Demand updates, too. USDA's Supply & Demand Report this morning is expected to show corn ending stocks at 1.959 billion bu., while soybean ending stocks are seen at 238 million bu., up from September, but well below 2006-07. On wheat, 2007-08 carryover is seen tightening to 304 million bu. from 362 million bu. in September. World wheat ending stocks are also expected to tightening.

U.S.-Korea beef talks. Not surprisingly, two days of talks on beef trade ended without an agreement being reached between the U.S. and South Korea on expanding the terms of trade, according to reports from South Korea. This means there will be further discussions between the two sides before any shifts take place.

Weekly Export Sales today, too. For the week ended Oct. 4, traders expect: wheat sales from 1.1 to 1.4 million MT; corn sales from 700,000 to 1.1 million MT; bean sales from 600,000 to 900,000 MT; meal sales from 50,000 to 150,000 MT; soyoil sales from 5,000 to 15,000 MT; and cotton sales from 90,000 to 150,000 running bales.