Ag in the News

12/11/2007

National and International

U.S. resumes beef trade with Russia: NCBA
National Cattlemen's Beef Association Chief Economist Gregg Doud wouldn't divulge his sources, but said reports that the United States has sold beef to Russia are "100 percent accurate."MORE!

Pork News Martha Stewart launches hams at Costco
Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. on Monday announced that during the week of December 10th, Kirkland Signature Martha Stewart Favorite Holiday Ham will be available at Costco Wholesale warehouses nationwide. MORE!

Hardee's launches bacon-topped Cheddar fries
Carpinteria, Calif.-based Hardee's announced the introduction of Bacon Cheddar Fries, a menu item the company hopes will build on the popularity of the recently released Natural Cut Fries. MORE!

Wendy's searches for new CMO
Wendy's announced that it is launching a nationwide search for a new chief marketing officer to replace Ian Rowden, who is resigning from the post to return to his native Australia. MORE!

Rick Bayless to tout pork in checkoff-funded media tour
Celebrity Chef Rick Bayless and his daughter Lanie will host a satellite media tour from their Chicago home kitchen on Dec. 11 that will focus on recipes for holiday ham and other pork favorites. MORE!

Wrap Up

USDA reports this morning. USDA's monthly Supply & Demand and Crop Production Reports are out this morning at 7:30 am. Few changes are expected in the U.S. balance sheets and cotton is the only U.S. crop getting a production update. Focus will be primarily on foreign production and stocks.

Farm bill finish line talk. House Ag Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) last night told the Farm Journal Forum in Washington that pay caps will be one of the key issues for the upcoming farm bill conference. He also signaled the bill could still get done in January. Senate Ag Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) addresses the confab today as his chamber prepares to start voting on amendments.

FOMC meeting today. The Fed's meeting on interest rates wraps up at 1:15 pm CT today and they are widely expected to cut interest rates. The main question is how much, but most lean toward a quarter-point cut.

China meetings. Reports out of China indicate the U.S. and China haven't reached a deal on beef trade. That's been one of the issues pending as this week's meetings took place. Meanwhile, China reported its consumer prices rose 6.9% in November, pushed higher by an 18.2% hike in food prices.