World Perspectives
livestock

Cattle Inventory Report: U.S. Cattle Herd Still in Contraction

USDA released its January Cattle Inventory report today. The U.S. cattle herd is still in a contraction phase.  The total inventory of all cattle and calves as of 1 January was 86.7 million head, down 500,000 head from last year. Key numbers from today’s report are: The cattle on feed estimate showed 87.2 percent on feedlots of 1,000 head or more capacity, slightly higher than last year.  The combined total of calves under 500 pounds, other heifers, plus steers over 500 pounds, representing the number of feeder cattle outside of feedlots, was 24.6 million head, just slightly below 1 January 2024. The 1 January number of feeder cattle outside of feedlots is the lowest since 2015. Feeder cattle outside feed lots make up 63 p...

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feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Grain Futures Buying Demand; Livestock Futures Buying Time

Bears were in control of the CBOT again on Monday with technical pressure and bearish fundamental headlines driving prices lower. Soybeans and wheat were the downside leaders for the day as funds accelerated their exit from long positions in these markets amid the chart weakness. Corn futures s...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Mar 26 Corn closed at $4.3975/bushel, down $0.01 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Wheat closed at $5.2075/bushel, down $0.085 from yesterday's close.  Jan 26 Soybeans closed at $10.7175/bushel, down $0.05 from yesterday's close.  Jan 26 Soymeal closed at $303.5/short ton, up $1 fr...

Farmer Bridge Assistance Program Early Details

The USDA will base the $12 billion in farmer payments it recently announced under the Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program on 2025 planted acreage. The department announced that acreage reports, as of 19 December, by 5 p.m., should be “accurate.” Payment rates will be announced th...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Grain Futures Buying Demand; Livestock Futures Buying Time

Bears were in control of the CBOT again on Monday with technical pressure and bearish fundamental headlines driving prices lower. Soybeans and wheat were the downside leaders for the day as funds accelerated their exit from long positions in these markets amid the chart weakness. Corn futures s...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Mar 26 Corn closed at $4.3975/bushel, down $0.01 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Wheat closed at $5.2075/bushel, down $0.085 from yesterday's close.  Jan 26 Soybeans closed at $10.7175/bushel, down $0.05 from yesterday's close.  Jan 26 Soymeal closed at $303.5/short ton, up $1 fr...

Farmer Bridge Assistance Program Early Details

The USDA will base the $12 billion in farmer payments it recently announced under the Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program on 2025 planted acreage. The department announced that acreage reports, as of 19 December, by 5 p.m., should be “accurate.” Payment rates will be announced th...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Bear, Bear, Every Where a Bear

Today was National Poinsettia Day, a plant that is supposed to symbolize goodwill and success but that is only true for the bears today.  There was red all over Chicago and New York as investors counted their blessings of too much grain and too much risk. The only thing rising in value was...

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From WPI Consulting

Illuminating the value of technical research

On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.

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