MARKET NEWS HIGHLIGHTS

•  550 million eggs have been recalled after they were linked to cases of salmonella poisoning.  A House Energy and Commerce subcommittee will hold a hearing on the recall September 14^th.  The committee is inviting Austin “Jack” DeCoster, the owner of Wright County Egg, and Orland Bethel, the owner of Hillandale Farms, to testify.
  

• une U.S. Beef exports were 204.6 million pounds, up 18% from last year, and the largest monthly total recorded since August 2008.  Export totals for the first half of the year are up 15.6% versus 2009.  The largest increases in U.S. beef exports in June were in shipments to Korea, Russia, and Japan.
  

• U.S. pork exports in June totaled 365.2 million pounds, up 23% above 2009’s total which was impacted by market disruptions related to the H1N1 flu outbreak.  June’s total was the second-largest monthly total for 2010.  Pork exports for the first half of 2009 increased nearly 8% compared to 2009.  The largest increases noted in June were to Japan and Mexico.
  

• Mexico announced a retaliatory tariff of 5% on U.S. pork exports.  Mexico announced on August 16^th it was adding new products, including pork, to a list of U.S. goods subject to tariffs because of a U.S. failure to allow Mexican trucks to circulate on U.S. roads as part of the NAFTA trade deal.
  

•  Total beef stocks in cold storage at the end of July were reported at 388.3 million pounds, down 13% from last year.  Pork stocks totaled 391.3 million pounds, 73% of last year and the smallest total for any time period recorded since October 2001.  Chicken stocks at the end of July were 672.8 million pounds, down 1% from a year ago.
  

• Mexico’s Ministry of Economy announced August 10th that it had eliminated anti-dumping duties that have been imposed on imports of U.S. beef for the past ten years.  The resolution went into effect August 11th, and eliminates the duties (ranging from 3 to 29 cents per pound) effective April 29, 2010.
  

Grains

• The Pro Farmer Midwest Crop Tour estimated the average corn yield at 164.1 bushels per acre, resulting in a projected corn crop of 13.29 billion bushels.  Pro Farmer estimated the average soybean yield at 44.9 bushels per acre, resulting in a 3.5 billion bushel crop.
  

• The wholly owned U.S. subsidiary of Solbar Industries, Ltd., an Israeli company, is buying the former Green Plant Farms soybean processing plant in South Sioux City, Nebraska for $16 million, pending federal regulatory review.  Greg Horn, president of Oakdale-Minnesota-based Solbar USA, said the company expects to invest $10 million more for equipment.  The plant is only two years old.  Solbar will contract for locally grown soybeans that will be crushed into soybean flour.  Solbar Industries is based in Ashdod, Israel, and has plants there and in Ningbo, China.  The Nebraska plant will be their first venture in the U.S.
  

• Biodiesel companies are reporting significant losses, according to documents filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.  Western Iowa Energy, LLC, reported a net loss of $1.3 million for six months in the recent quarter ended June 30th.  The Wall Lake, Iowa-based producer idled production and laid off about half of its workforce at its 30-million-gallon plant in April.  Another company, Iowa Renewable Energy, LLC, reported losses of $3 million in the recent quarter ended June 30th, covering nine months.  The company said that following the expiration of the tax credit, the company went into “warm shut down” status.  Western Dubuque Biodiesel, LLC, located in Farley, Iowa, lost a net $1.8 million for the six months ended June 30th.  WBD did not produce biodiesel in the first quarter of 2010, but restarted production on April 11th in anticipation of a renewal of the blenders credit.  The company said it was out of compliance with their lender.  The nation’s largest biodiesel producer, Renewable Energy Group, laid off employees, idled plants, and cut employees’ pay back in April.  However, REG acquired Tellurian Biodiesel, Inc., and American BDF, LLC, in July that will expand the company’s use of cooking oil as a feedstock, which is less expensive than soy.