World Perspectives
livestock

Cattle on Feed Report Shows Record Low Placements for October

USDA’s monthly Cattle on Feed report was released on Friday. Total cattle on feed amounted to 11.7 million head, 98 percent of last year.    Placements were the lowest for the month of October since the series began in 1996, dropping 10 percent on the year due to tight supply of cattle. This is a major reversal as placements in October 2024 were 2.27 million head, the largest since 2019. Placements weighing less than 800 pounds were 68 percent of the total volume placed on feed, compared to 57 percent last year.   As a percentage of total inventory, October marketings were below current at 14.5 percent in 2025. Daily marketings in October were 77,136 versus 83,864 in October 2024. October had 22 slaughter days in...

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feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.235/bushel, down $0.0025 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Wheat closed at $5.3925/bushel, up $0.045 from yesterday's close.  Jan 26 Soybeans closed at $11.2475/bushel, up $0.015 from yesterday's close.  Jan 26 Soymeal closed at $320.4/short ton, up $2.1 fr...

No Steel for IT; Reformulate; Thanksgiving

No Steel for IT U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were in Europe suggesting the U.S. would relax restrictions on importing EU steel and aluminum if Brussels would remove restrictions on American IT. EU VP Teresa Ribera countered that, “The...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

China Update

Geopolitics China's reaction to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent remarks on a potential Taiwan crisis has been disproportionately harsh and overtly hostile as it tried to undermine her domestic political support. Beijing’s ban on seafood imports from Japan based on the Fuku...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.235/bushel, down $0.0025 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Wheat closed at $5.3925/bushel, up $0.045 from yesterday's close.  Jan 26 Soybeans closed at $11.2475/bushel, up $0.015 from yesterday's close.  Jan 26 Soymeal closed at $320.4/short ton, up $2.1 fr...

No Steel for IT; Reformulate; Thanksgiving

No Steel for IT U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer were in Europe suggesting the U.S. would relax restrictions on importing EU steel and aluminum if Brussels would remove restrictions on American IT. EU VP Teresa Ribera countered that, “The...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

China Update

Geopolitics China's reaction to Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's recent remarks on a potential Taiwan crisis has been disproportionately harsh and overtly hostile as it tried to undermine her domestic political support. Beijing’s ban on seafood imports from Japan based on the Fuku...

livestock

Livestock Industry Margins

Beef packer margins rose for a third consecutive week, climbing $52/head to $115 and hitting the strongest profitability since mid-2023. The gain came amid a sharp $7.65/cwt decline in live cattle prices and continued firmness in the beef cutout. The spread between the cutout and fed cattle val...

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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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