Hungry Chickens Spark Biggest Feed-Price Rally Since ’74
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Freight trains aren’t getting food to chickens fast enough, sending prices for livestock feed made from soybeans toward the biggest monthly gain in 40 years.
Soybean-meal futures have jumped 27 percent this month as meat prices close to record highs spur feed demand and shipping delays tighten supplies from Midwest processors. Weekly train speeds fell last week to the lowest since April 2010 while waiting times at terminals rose to the highest since July, data from the Association of America Railroads show.