it may just be me ...

... but, according to Comstock, at 5:54pm 6/20/2008, stock from BOTH pilgrims.pride and tyson.foods were being valued at $14.88 per share.

how the mighty have fallen...
(of course, last quarter tyson announced a $0.04/share dividend while pilgrims was stuck at $0.02)

just my opinion, but ... think yum.

on organic foods

we've been talking about all sorts of price increases in class (from corn to chicken to eggs). however, here is a timely article regarding the effect of prices on organic food production (i added the links for you!).

Sticker Shock in the Organic Aisles - New York Times

... In some parts of the country, a loaf of organic bread can cost $4.50, a
pound of pasta has hit $3, and organic milk is closing in on $7 a
gallon.

... Over all, grocery prices have increased about 5 percent over the last
year, though some staples like conventional eggs jumped 30 percent and
milk, 13 percent, according to the Consumer Price Index. That
government index does not break out prices for organic food.

... The average retail price for Eggland’s Best Organic eggs in 2007 ranged
from $3.79 to $4.29, company officials said. So far this year, the
range has risen to $4.59 to $4.99.

... Organic food is typically 20 percent to 100 percent more expensive than
a conventional counterpart; the gap has narrowed in recent years as
discount retailers like Wal-Mart have offered organics and more private-label organic products have become available, according to the industry.

... Americans spent $16.7 billion on organic food and beverages in 2006, a
126 percent increase in just five years, according to the Organic Trade
Association, an industry trade group. Organic sales account for about
2.8 percent of food and beverage sales in the United States.

...“In the last three months or four months, everyone along the chain
in organic food is not making their margins,” said Bob Eberly,
president of Eberly Poultry in Stevens, Pa. The cost of raising poultry
has increased 16 percent in the last six months, but he said his prices
had increased only 7 percent.

“In the next month or so, our customers are going to see a significant price increase,” he said. “We just have to do it.”

Egg Prices Doubled from Soaring Feed

Recent stats show that US egg prices have doubled since 2002 to $2.17 per dozen of grade A large. What has caused this increase? Feed prices of course! Along with other agricultural products like dairy, egg prices are seeing a boon due to high feed costs and high transportation costs from rising fuel prices. A mill owner said a truck load of grain cost him $8,000 this week, as opposed to the $3,500 a few years ago. Despite the increased cost for a dozen eggs, it is still a bargain when compared to buying meat of an equal weight. http://www.thepoultrysite.com/poultrynews/14534/egg-prices-doubled-in-six-years

Renewing the Poultry Industry in Iraq

While surfing the US Army Vet Corps website I found an interesting poultry article. The article is about the vet corps trying to establish the poulty industry again in Iraq. Now that the country has began to stabilize. The military is looking to stabilize the poultry industry The town of Mahmudiyah is traditionally considered to be the hub of the poultry industry and is located near Baghdad. This close proximity to the most intense fighting of the war has to say the least has stunted the poultry industry. With 40% of the country's eggs being imported there is plenty of room for growth of domestic egg production. The military is trying to band together the local farmers to create a kind of co-op type setup with local farmers. At the same time the military has begin to probe the idea of doing the same thing with the broiler industry of Iraq. And is in the beginning stages of setting that up

Some Interesting Facts from a U.S. meat exporter

As i searched around finding poultry headlines i stumbled onto a company known as SJS USA,INC that exports food to market such as Russia, CIS, and Baltic Sea. This company is based out of California. What grabbed my attention was searching through their website http://www.sjsusa.com/us/index.shtml and looking under the American industry of meat and poultry tab. When searching there you can find statistics such as 17% of the labor powers in the U.S. relate to agriculture, or every six place of work relates to agriculture in some sort of way. Bi products and foodstuffs from an average sized farm can feed around 128 people in the world. The company then begins to explore how important poultry is in its market and how many shelled eggs (around 77 billion) are enjoyed each year. Along with the nutritional information given, the company also goes into the way the birds are raised and which areas of the U.S. are prevalent in poultry production. This company makes sure they cover all of their basis when talking about egg production and how well the chickens are maintained not only with their company but for the entire U.S. I was happy to see that this website was one of the first poultry sites i found when searching Google. There are many adds and animal rights groups that want to criticize agriculture in general, but this company goes in depth and sheds light on the entire industry and should be commended for doing so.

more on pilgrim's pride plant closings

Pilgrim's Pride to close Plant City facility - Tampa Bay Business Journal:

Chicken processor Pilgrim's Pride Corp. plans to lay off 84 employees at its Plant City distribution center, starting in May. The employees are involved in transportation and warehousing for Pilgrim's Pride (NYSE: PPC), which filed an official layoff notice with the state. The Plant City distribution center is one of six centers the company has decided to close around the country to curtail losses because of feed cost increases, according to a release. Pilgrim's Pride, which is based in Pittsburg, Texas, stated the closings also are a result of an oversupply of chicken in the United States.

Pilgrim's Pride to cut jobs nationwide, but Waco plant's specialty may save local jobs

Poultry giant Pilgrim’s Pride, which has a processing plant in Waco, has announced it is cutting more than 1,100 jobs and will close a processing plant and six of its 13 distribution centers as it struggles to cope with rising grain prices.

The company, based in Pittsburg, Texas, confirmed it will close the processing plant in Siler City, N.C., which employs about 830 people.

Spokesman Ray Atkinson said the cuts may not stop there. The company continues to look at other processing facilities “for potential (product) mix changes, closure and/or consolidation.”

Pilgrim’s Pride has a total of 37 processing plants, 34 in the United States and three in Mexico. It also has 12 prepared-foods facilities.

The Waco plant on East Lake Shore Drive employs 700. Atkinson said he could not comment on the future of that plant or any other while Pilgrim’s Pride continues its assessment.

Truth About Trade & Technology - Pilgrim's Pride Plans Closings

In what it is calling an industrywide "crisis," the Pittsburg, Texas, company, whose 2007 revenue was $7.6 billion, says its cost for feed is expected to be more than $1.3 billion higher than two years ago.

The increase in feed costs is due largely to rising prices for the two main feed ingredients, corn and soybeans, which have more than doubled during the past year as demand for grain world-wide rises and as more grain is used to produce biofuels.

Pilgrim's Pride plans to close one of its 37 chicken-processing plants, along with six of its 13 U.S. distribution centers.

While many farmers are enjoying the high grain prices, purchasers and users of grain, like meat processor Smithfield Foods Inc. and packaged-foods company Kellogg Co., are trimming production and seeking cheaper ingredients. Pilgrim's Pride has increased prices it charges customers, although it wouldn't say by how much.

The retail price for broiler products is about $1.69 a pound, up about 10% from last year, according to figures from the U.S. Agriculture Department. Consumers are also starting to feel the pinch of higher prices at the grocery store.

Air-chilled chicken: Is it better than water chilled?

We may soon be seeing new labels on chicken at the grocery store telling us it is "air-chilled". This air-chilling process is new to the U.S., but is common in Europe and has been around for almost 50 years. There have been claims that chicken chilled by air tastes better than the traditional water-chilled birds. Some American food retailers, like Whole Foods in California, have already started to convert its chicken to air-chilled. Will this be the new rave in the world of poultry processing? Only time will tell.
http://www.thepoultrysite.com/poultrynews/14414/airchilled-chicken-a-taste-of-things-to-come

Birds of a Different Feather Favored

Our buddies across the pond are really sinking their teeth into the idea of free range poultry. According to several different animal welfare groups, there seems to be a big trend in the consumption of free range birds as opposed to those that are factory farmed. Apparently, this sudden switch was instigated by a few exposés done of European chicken production. It has become a question of ethics that is driving those who think about food as having once been a living breathing thing rather than simply its delectable breaded and fried final form. According to the article (see below), this type of conscious decision to buy free range isn’t a new idea, but the media coverage has helped get it a leg up and a higher market value. With the recent beef fiasco, people may start becoming more conscious about where their steak and egg breakfast comes from. What sort of implications will this have on organic and free range producers in the States? It begs the question of long term economic stability. There will always be a place in the market for Happy Chicken eaters regardless of how much control the big producers have, but are we seeing the beginning of the fence line of the Feathered Free Rangers beginning to grow?

(http://www.thepoultrysite.com/poultrynews/14235/free-range-chickens-flying-off-the-shelves)

Fat to fuel

An upwards population of 8 billion birds are processed annually. According to University of Georgia Researcher’s, waste chicken fat can be processed into effective fuel. In larger operations the amount of waste created during processing can displace the cost of $9 millions of fuel a year. Running much like diesel or termed Biodiesel, internal fuel costs may be reduced by harvesting the energy from these fats and burning them. (Research)

The idea of making fuels from animal fat has been in the works for years now. As a substance much like corn oil after processing, this fuel runs much like its diesel and biodiesel counterparts. Its goal is to cut poultry processing costs and have a cheap simple way to utilize their waste products. With about 9 billion gallons of oil produced in the state of Georgia in one year, this market could have a reasonable impact on the oil market nationwide.

In addition to the processing of poultry fats, oils, and feathers, bedding and litter have become a possible source of energy too. Turkey Litter is running a $200 million dollars power plant in the Midwest. The poultry industry is attempting to utilize their waste products and turn them into something useful: FUEL.

price of chicken

perhaps not surprising anyone, is the recent report by Pilgrim's Pride that increases the price of feed ingredients is causing an increase in the price of chicken, and a decline in the profits of poultry companies. PP estimates that:

... it would take a 10 percent increase in chicken prices to offset higher feed costs, which are likely to keep rising. But the company has had a tough time passing along the higher costs to customers, such as grocery stores and restaurant suppliers.

Certainly, this is happening to most chicken producers. Even Tyson Foods has announced higher prices.

while yesterday's egg market report looks stable over the last week or so ... we were shocked to find the price of 1.5 dozen (that's 18 to the math-challenged) large, grade A eggs to be $1.89 at Weis!

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meat in the USA

an interesting article by mark.bittman of the NYTimes regarding meat-eating habits in the US and the effect that meat production has on health, the economy and environment. there is a lot to discuss here; as everything done in the name of 'industry' or 'profit' is not perfect.

Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler - New York Times

Americans are downing close to 200 pounds of meat, poultry and fish per capita per year (dairy and eggs are separate, and hardly insignificant), an increase of 50 pounds per person from 50 years ago. We each consume something like 110 grams of protein a day, about twice the federal government’s recommended allowance; of that, about 75 grams come from animal protein.l

however, as i read these types of articles, i often try to identify the one with the greatest number of logical fallacies. how many can you find?

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we've all heard about the price of corn ...

... but, here is another aspect of the increased cost of oil, and the effect of increased demand on 'other' oils (which are used nationally and globally for BOTH kind of calories!).

A New, Global Oil Quandary: Costly Fuel Means Costly Calories - New York Times

From India to Indiana, shortages and soaring prices for palm oil, soybean oil and many other types of vegetable oils are the latest, most striking example of a developing global problem: costly food.

The food price index of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, based on export prices for 60 internationally traded foodstuffs, climbed 37 percent last year. That was on top of a 14 percent increase in 2006, and the trend has accelerated this winter.

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Clone-burgers, anyone??

in a not-unexpected decision, the

F.D.A. Says Food From Cloned Animals Is Safe - New York Times

After years of debate, the Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday declared that food from cloned animals and their progeny is safe, removing the last government hurdle before meat and milk derived from copies of prize dairy cows and superior hogs can be sold at grocery stores.

curiously, within the same week France prohibited the use of genetically modified corn developed by monsanto. there are many of the same concerns among other members of the european union, so don't be surprised if the other countries join in the ban.

is this good news for the chicken biz?? food for thought?

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just in time for class!

following the lead of the NYTimes;

Wall St. Journal to End Fee for Web

November 13, 2007

my guess is that you will need to remember to use firefox; and load adblock plus.

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Feed Factor

not to pile on ... but; the natural concomitant of the previous post regarding the price of feed ingredients, is the increase in the consumer price index -- especially poultry.

further, look at what has happened to Tyson's stock over the last month.

Tyson's shares have fallen ~10% over the last couple of days as earnings estimates have fallen. however, they are not alone, meat producers across the board have taken a hit. Pilgrims Pride shares fell ~$1, Smithfield Foods fell ~$0.50, Sanderson Farms fell ~$0.20 and Hormel Foods ~$0.14.

some analysts retain a 'buy' position for 'meat' companies, based on increasing prices, management restructuring, potential of exports to china and

added thurs 20070906 2:37pm (edt):
and if we think this isn't bad enough... how about the tortilla crisis??

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Futures

a new semester; and what better way to start with the engine that drives the machine!!

Agriculture Futures Rally Higher - New York Times

CHICAGO (AP) -- Futures for wheat, soybeans, oats and corn advanced Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade. Wheat for December delivery rose 6 cents to $7.905 a bushel; December corn rose 3 cents to $3.4275 a bushel; December oats rose 2.25 cents to $2.55 a bushel; November soybeans jumped 4.75 cents to $8.8975 a bushel. Beef and pork futures were mixed on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. October live cattle rose 0.35 cent to 97.42 cents a pound; September feeder cattle dipped 0.12 cent to $1.1785 a pound; October lean hogs were flat at 67.85 cents a pound; February pork bellies fell 1.5 cents to 90.5 cents a pound.

Notably lacking were chicken and egg prices... so, you can always look here and there. since there is no apparent RSS feed, you may want to have the reports emailed !!

btw.. there is also a great compilation of monthly and annual data regarding production and prices for eggs, broilers, chickens and turkeys from 1960-2004!!

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women's salaries

i'm an on-again/off-again suze orman fan. somedays i think she's brilliant -- others, the dregs.

having said that, she has an article pointing out the well-known salary discrepancies between men & women; including suggestions for closing the gap.

it seems to me that the telling paragraph is here:

In their book "Women Don't Ask: Negotiation and the Gender Divide", Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever report that women are 2.5 times more likely than men to say they feel "a great deal of apprehension about negotiating." In one study referenced in the book, women likened negotiation to "going to the dentist" while men described the negotiation process as "winning a ballgame."

of course, if that's not enough to motivate you:

Babcock and Laschever estimate that a woman's lack of negotiating mojo in her first job can end up costing her about $500,000 in foregone earnings over her career.

wow...

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poultry power

no, not anything to do with poultry welfare!!

but, rather, a new method of generating electricity by burning poultry manure (and litter).

according to the NYTimes; Minnesota has completed construction of a $200 million dollar power plant that burns turkey litter. there are even some nice pictures on the FOXnews site. the power plant is buying manure from farmers for $3 to $7 a ton, depending on the quality! i'm not sure of the current price of shavings; but, i'll check!

there is some controversy about the amount of power currently being produced.

more to the point, not everyone is convinced of the ecological sanity of the new technology.

Technorati Tags: science

it's just natural

as reported in the WSJ;
a group of "smaller" poultry producers (including Sanderson Farms, Foster Farms and Gold'n Plump Poultry) will be delivering a letter to the USDA requesting an elaboration and qualification of the USDA definition of "natural" poultry products.

why? you may ask ...

because, as discussed in class, the larger producers (e.g., Tyson Foods and Pilgrim's Pride) have begun to enter the 'natural' and 'organic' market. Obviously, there is a much greater added value for any company to sell a premium product -- especially when 10-15% of the weight of the product is chicken broth!

The WSJ indicates that this may be a difficult fight for the coalition to win ... as the big producers have made political contributions at approximately 20X that of the smaller guys.

If you're wondering how someone might find this kind of information, click here!

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chicken stock

ok; so this post may not be what you expected based on the title ...

but, Tyson Foods is trading for $20.96/share (2nd quarter; 2007 and $21.15 at close today!) while posting a $52 million increase in pretax chicken sales in this quarter.  the recent increases in corn prices should be reflected in the next quarter.

Looming on the horizon, however, is the recent report that "(n)early 40 poultry farms in Indiana gave chickens feed contaminated with wheat gluten imported from China...". while the FDA did NOT indicate which company owned the chickens ... one has to wonder what the effect will be on the bottom line.

for those expecting a different discussion, look here. though, imho, you need to add a handful of flatleaf parsley, some fresh basil and the leafy fronds of some fennel (and a hot pepper!).

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