Smithfield Foods Inc. said smaller pork supplies and strong exports should push up prices and offset higher feed costs for its hogs and drive profits going forward. “We have supplies and demand in very good balance at this point,” chief executive C. Larry Pope told Wall Street analysts on a conference call. “I don’t see
Smithfield Licking Its Chops Over Better Prices
U.S. hogs tumble on Japan demand worry after quake
U.S. hog futures fell Friday, closing at their lowest in four days on worries that sales could slow to Japan, the top export market for U.S. pork, after a massive earthquake damaged ports and roadways. “We have to assume lower demand from Japan from consumer fear and confusion. Additionally, we have to assume a portion
Higher prices will test consumers’ taste for beef
(Reuters) — Lady Gaga’s favourite Judas Priest burger will still cost $12 at Kuma’s Corner as the trendy Chicago eatery resists raising prices, even though the cost of making that burger has gone up. “You can’t pass it on, not in times like this,” Kuma’s manager Frank DeBoss said of the higher beef prices, which
U.S. Hog Data Shows Producers Not Expanding
The latest U.S. Agriculture Department data shows the smallest Dec. 1 U.S. hog herd in four years, indicating that U.S. hog producers pocketed profits from this year’s high hog prices rather than investing them in herd expansion. Worries about high feed grain prices likely thwarted expansion, analysts said. Corn prices are above $6 per bushel,
U.S. Fed Cattle Supply At Three-Year High
The U.S. feedlot cattle supply on Dec. 1 was the largest for that date in three years as profitable cattle prices and poor pastures had producers rushing young cattle into feedlots rather than into breeding herds, analysts said Dec. 17. The U.S. Agriculture Department said there were 11.609 million cattle in feedlots on Dec. 1,
Smithfield Hog Profits Soar
Smithfield Foods Inc. expects to post a record profit this year as its moves to cut meat supplies are paying off with higher prices, and its shares rose more than 10 per cent. Smithfield is recovering from two years of losses that resulted from high feed prices, a glut of hogs and a recession that
Feedlot Placements Surprise Analysts
Dry pastures, profitable cattle prices and herd liquidation likely caused producers to put more cattle in feedlots in October than a year earlier, analysts said Nov. 19. The U.S. Agriculture Department’s monthly feedlot cattle report showed the addition of 2.504 million new cattle to feedlots last month, up 1.3 per cent year on year. Analysts
GIPSA Rules Could Shrink U.S. Meat Industry
The U.S. livestock and meat industry could face more than $1 billion in annual losses, and a drop in production if proposed rules for the industry are implemented, according to a study funded by big livestock producers released Nov. 10. Earlier this year, the Agriculture Department’s Grain Inspection, Packers and Stockyards Administrat ion proposed rules
Smaller U. S. Hog Herd Surprises Traders
U. S. hog futures rose the three-cent-per-lb. daily limit, as expected, in several key contracts early on Monday after USDA surprised investors last Friday by reporting a smaller-than-expected U. S. hog herd, traders said. Analysts on average expected about a one per cent smaller herd, but USDA reported a three per cent drop in hog
U. S. Cattle Herd Smallest In Seven Years
The U. S. feedlot cattle supply is the smallest in seven years, the U. S. Agriculture Department reported March 19, confirming trade forecasts. Contraction of the U. S. cattle herd has helped lift cattle prices to their highest level since late 2008. The cattle supply has decreased because producers have lost money for nearly two
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