World Perspectives

Who is Paying for U.S. Tariffs?

Over the course of 2025, the average tariff rate on U.S. imports increased from 2.6 percent at the beginning of the year to 13 percent by year-end. It then spiked in April and May, when tariffs on Chinese goods were raised by 125 percentage points, before being reversed by 115 percentage points...

Today’s Top insights
feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Mar 26 Corn closed at $4.3175/bushel, up $0.005 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Wheat closed at $5.4875/bushel, down $0.0375 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Soybeans closed at $11.33/bushel, down $0.0425 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Soymeal closed at $309.2/short ton, up $1.3...

Transportation and Export Report - 13 February 2026

U.S. grain transportation markets are slowly recovering from the shocks of bitter cold weather and low water levels on the Mississippi River System and from the surge in export demand. The latter is also causing strong rallies in ocean freight markets, particularly in the Atlantic basin. With g...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: China Headlines and Technical Buying Lift CBOT

Key Market Developments Markets head into Friday’s CPI report expecting a 0.3 percent month-over-month increase in both headline and core inflation, keeping year-over-year readings near +2.5 percent. That matters — but perhaps not as much as it would have a few weeks ago. This week&...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Mar 26 Corn closed at $4.3175/bushel, up $0.005 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Wheat closed at $5.4875/bushel, down $0.0375 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Soybeans closed at $11.33/bushel, down $0.0425 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Soymeal closed at $309.2/short ton, up $1.3...

Transportation and Export Report - 13 February 2026

U.S. grain transportation markets are slowly recovering from the shocks of bitter cold weather and low water levels on the Mississippi River System and from the surge in export demand. The latter is also causing strong rallies in ocean freight markets, particularly in the Atlantic basin. With g...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: China Headlines and Technical Buying Lift CBOT

Key Market Developments Markets head into Friday’s CPI report expecting a 0.3 percent month-over-month increase in both headline and core inflation, keeping year-over-year readings near +2.5 percent. That matters — but perhaps not as much as it would have a few weeks ago. This week&...

Sovereignty and Competitiveness; USMCA Battle

Sovereignty and Competitiveness So-called food sovereignty has animated European politics for decades. Now there is AI sovereignty because English is annoying or a national security risk. Taxes, regulations, and fines are thrown at dominant foreign companies to the point that Bloomberg says som...

WPI Spring Acreage Outlook

Heading into the USDA’s annual Ag Outlook Forum (AOF) next week, there is heightened speculation and anticipation about what the 2026/27 crop outlook will be. WPI updated our acreage forecasting models to help clients know what to expect—most likely—from the upcoming AOF forec...

Sovereignty and Competitiveness; USMCA Battle

Sovereignty and Competitiveness So-called food sovereignty has animated European politics for decades. Now there is AI sovereignty because English is annoying or a national security risk. Taxes, regulations, and fines are thrown at dominant foreign companies to the point that Bloomberg says som...

livestock

Livestock Round Up: Cattle Margins and Distribution

The recent February World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report forecast beef production to increase in 2026 due to greater slaughter of steers and heifers, increased cow slaughter, and heavier dressed weights, all of which will provide some relief to the beef market. Also, th...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Mar 26 Corn closed at $4.3125/bushel, up $0.0375 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Wheat closed at $5.525/bushel, up $0.1525 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Soybeans closed at $11.3725/bushel, up $0.1325 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Soymeal closed at $307.9/short ton, up $4.9 fr...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Export Sales

Export Sales and Shipments for January 30-February 5, 2026. Wheat: Net sales of 488,000 metric tons (MT) for 2025/2026 were up 31 percent from the previous week and 14 percent from the prior 4-week average. Export shipments of 580,000 MT were up 44 percent from the previous week and 59 percent...

A Year in Review: Impact of Tariffs on Agricultural and Food Processing Machinery

We now have nearly a year of data to work with on the impact of the Trump Administration’s tariffs.  When they were first announced, there was quite a bit of conjecture and some sophisticated economic analysis about how trade flows would be impacted. This brief analysis will focus br...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Mixed But Steady with an Outside Surprise

The U.S. created more new jobs in January than expected, especially in healthcare. And there was more ethanol produced last week than the market expected. Soyoil hit a new contract high, but South American production continues to look quite substantial. The mixed news produced mixed results, bu...

livestock

Livestock Industry Margins

Beef packer margins weakened further last week, with estimated net losses widening to -$247/head, extending the deterioration seen through late January. Boxed beef values were firmer last week, but gains failed to offset increases in fed cattle prices, resulting in additional margin compression...

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