MARKET NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

• National Beef Packing had its best ever third quarter.  National reported net income of $792 million for the quarter ended May 29^th.  The earnings are $5.6 million shy of National’s record quarterly income of $84.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2008.  Earnings through the first three fiscal quarters are $169.8 million, setting it up for a record-breaking year.
  
  

•  JBS news:

1.        JBS SA agreed to buy McElhaney Feedyard in Arizona for around $24 million.  The feedyard has a capacity to feed 130,000 head of cattle, and is strategically located near the JBS production facility in Tolleson.

2.        JBS SA agreed to buy the Toledo Group, a small Belgium company that makes and markets cooked and frozen beef products.  JBS paid $14 million for the company, which has more than 100 clients across western Europe.

• May U.S. beef and veal exports were reported at 203.5 million pounds, 43.1 million pounds above last year, and the largest monthly total recorded since August 2008.  Beef exports through the first five months of the year are 26% ahead of last year.  The largest increases in May were noted in shipments to Korea and Russia.
  
  

•  U.S. pork exports in May totaled 362.8 million pounds, up 18% over May 2009 which was impacted by market discruptions linked to the H1N1 flu outbreak.  Year-to-date pork exports are 4.6% larger tan the same time period in 2009.
  
  

• U.S.D.A. reported all fresh beef prices during June averaged 409.0 cents per pound, up 2% from May and up 5% from June 2009.  This was the highest June average on record, and the third highest monthly average for any time period.  June retail pork prices averaged 310.4 cents per pound, the highest average retail price on record for any month.  Composite retail broiler prices averaged 176.6 cents per pound, 3.2% below last year.

Grains

• Monsanto Co. reported net income of $384 million in the quarter ended May 31^st versus income of $694 million the previous year.  The latest quarter included $86 million in restructuring costs linked to downsizing the Roundup unit.  Sales in Monsanto’s ag productivity unit – which includes Roundup – declined 34% to $600 million.  Roundup sales have been weak due to more competition from cheaper generic versions.
  
  

• Poet has purchased an ethanol plant in Cloverdale, Indiana, that was expected to come on line by April 2011 with a production capacity of 90 million gallons per year.  The facility opened in 2008 and was operated by Altra Biofuels, but has been idle for some time.  The plant will be Poet’s 27^th U.S. ethanol facility, and will increase Poet’s annual ethanol production capacity to about 1.7 billion gallons.
  
  

•  More Monsanto news:

1.        Monsanto Co. and BASF said they will nearly double their investments into an already established joint venture to develop biotech crops, including wheat.  The companies said they hope to develop a yield-enhanced biotech wheat for North American and Australian markets, but initial commercialization will occur sometime after 2020.  The joint venture is still on track to introduce a genetically modified drought-tolerant corn around 2012, pending regulatory approvals.

2.        Monsanto has agreed to pay a $2.5 million fine for misbranding biotech cotton seeds in what regulators called the largest settlement of its kind for violating U.S. insecticide law.

•  The Weekly Crop Progress report indicated that as of July 18^th, 72% of the corn was rated “good-excellent”, compared to 71% last year.  The soybean crop was rated 67% “good-excellent”, the same as last year.  The corn crop is ahead of normal due to the early planting pace, with 65% silked compared to the 5-year average of 47%. 60% of the soybean crop had bloomed versus the 5-year average of 56%.  Kansas crop ratings were 70% “good-excellent” for both corn and soybeans.