USDA released its May WASDE Tuesday. The May WASDE is always interesting since it includes USDA’s updated projections on U.S. and world supplies and demand for grains and the soy complex for the following new crop cycle as well as revised estimates for the current one. Obviously, it is very early to be projecting supply/demand estimates for the new crop year, 2020/21 in this case. The only crop for which serious data-based estimates can be made is Northern Hemisphere winter wheat. Most spring planted crops have just been planted or are now being planted, and planting of most new Southern Hemisphere crops is months away. This is why USDA likes to refer to its May new crop numbers as projections rather than estimates. Nevertheless, for...
What You Need to Know Today: The corn and soybean markets closed slightly higher in low-volume trade. The wheat market was mixed, with HRW continuing its downward trek on improved moisture. As expected, the bearish cattle on feed report drove down cattle prices and pulled hogs down with it. Mi...
Monday, 25 May is a U.S. holiday, and both the markets and our office will be closed. Please note that the next issue of Ag Perspectives will be published on Tuesday, 26 May. The WPI staff wishes everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend...
USDA’s monthly cattle on feed report was released today. The total number of cattle on feed in feedlots with 1,000 head or more capacity amounted to 11.6 million head, 102 percent of last year. Source: USDA, WPI Placements were up, but part of that is attributable to persistent drought c...
From WPI Consulting
Communicating importance of value-added products
Facing increasing pressure to quantify the value of export promotion efforts to investors, a U.S. industry organization retained WPI to develop a quantitative model that better communicated the importance of exports. The resulting model concluded that value-added meat exports contributed $0.45 cents per bushel to the price of corn, increasing support for that sector’s financial support of WPI’s client. In addition to serving the red meat industry with this type of analysis, WPI has generated similar deliverables for the U.S. soybean and poultry/egg industries.