World Perspectives

A Beef with Beef; A Beef with COVID

A Beef with Beef Some U.S. senators are demanding that the Justice Department and USDA investigate why the spread between the cash and futures markets for cattle has become so wide. Instead of an investigation they could all just read WPI analysts Matt Herrington and Dave Juday as they have explained the situation in these markets. Moreover, since the delivery period on the April futures contract starts this Friday, the current $14/cwt difference will be cleared up faster than any government investigation. As Matt explains it, the whole bottleneck in the beef supply chain is the packing plant. One cannot run more head of cattle through that process than can be safely handled. The demand for beef spiked with consumer hording, forcing near-t...

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Sugar Supply and Demand Situation

Mexico’s 2025/26 sugar production is estimated to be 5.024 million MT, reflecting about a 6 percent increase from 4.7 million MT after the past two years of weather-affected output, including both persistent drought and ill-timed rains. Nonetheless, production remains near the low end com...

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livestock

Livestock Industry Margins

Beef packer margins reversed sharply to -$17/head from $120/head the prior week, as rising fed cattle prices more than offset a modest decline in the Choice cutout. Fed cattle prices increased $12.92/cwt from the prior week while the cutout slipped $3.24/cwt, compressing gross margins and pushi...

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From WPI Consulting

Forecasting developments in production agriculture

On behalf of a private U.S. agricultural technology provider, WPI’s team generated an econometric model to forecast the movement of concentrated corn production north and west from the traditional U.S. Corn Belt. WPI’s model has subsequently provided quantitative support to a multi-million-dollar investment into short-season corn variety development. WPI’s methodology included a series of interviews with regional grain elevators and seed consultants. Emphasizing outreach and communication with stakeholders who possess intimate sectoral knowledge – on-the-ground insights – is a regular component of WPI’s methodologies, made possible by WPI’s ever-growing network of industry contacts.

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