Ag in the News

12/20/2007

National and International

Smithfield earnings to rise on pork exports: analyst
BB&T Capital Markets said it raised its earnings forecasts for Smithfield Foods based on expected strong pork exports due to the weak U.S. dollar, lower pork pricing and higher caloric demand in developing countries. MORE!

Chicago Meat Authority names VP of business development
Chicago, Ill.-based Chicago Meat Authority Inc. on Wednesday introduced Chris Marriott as vice president of business development. Marriott brings more than 30 years of building long-term business relationships in the food industry, the company said. MORE!

USDA releases traceability business plan
USDA on Wednesday released its draft of a business plan for advancing animal disease traceability. MORE!

Domino's Pizza launches '30 minutes' rebranding campaign
Aiming to build on its 30-minute delivery heritage, Domino's Pizza is launching a rebranding campaign, "You Got 30 Minutes," that highlights the free time pizza delivery creates for consumers. MORE!

Wrap Up

Weekly Export Sales this morning. For the week ended Dec. 13, traders expect: wheat sales from 300,000 to 500,000 MT; corn sales from 900,000 to 1.2 million MT; soybean sales from 600,000 to 900,000 MT; meal sales from 100,000 to 150,000 MT; soyoil sales from 10,000 to 25,000 MT; and cotton sales from 200,000 to 350,000 running bales.

Overnight action. Corn futures were around 2 cents higher, while soybeans were fractionally to 1 cent higher in overnight trade. Chicago wheat finished widely mixed, with the most actively traded contracts under pressure.

Congress sort of hanging out 'gone fishin' sign. The House has exited Washington for the holidays but the Senate won't officially leave Washington. They'll utilize the same "pro forma" sessions as they did for the Thanksgiving break. That prevents the administration from making any recess appointments.

Russia and wheat exports. Russian Ag Minister Alexi Gordeyev said his country could cut off wheat exports if total shipments exceed 13 MMT by February. Earlier this month, some were signaling a wheat export cut off by Russia could come as soon as January. Still, this underscores the tight global wheat situation.