World Perspectives

Christmas Eve Policy Potpourri

Ship Subsidies: The SHIPS for America Act has been introduced in the U.S. Congress and is intended to boost the number of U.S. built ships. Currently, China builds over half the world’s ships, and over 90 percent are constructed in just three countries (China, South Korea, Japan). The U.S. builds just 0.1 percent of the world’s fleet. The Jones Act requires that half of American food aid be moved on U.S. flagged vessels. This reduces the amount of food aid because more money is spent on transport. The SHIPS act would give subsidies to agricultural exporters to offset higher shipping costs.Sliver of Truth: One outcome of the Trump era is the acknowledgement that there is always a sliver of truth. Economists generally think tariffs are distor...

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Export Sales

Export Sales and Shipments for March 6-12, 2026. Wheat: Net sales of 189,900 metric tons (MT) for 2025/2026 were down 58 percent from the previous week and 36 percent from the prior 4-week average. Export shipments of 383,100 MT were down 11 percent from the previous week and 7 percent from the...

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45Z: The Next Big Thing or the Next Big Mess?

The U.S. Treasury Department is (still!) working on the Section 45Z Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit.  The broad legislative effort for the act was launched in President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and picked up with some significant adjustments in President Trump’s One Big...

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Livestock Roundup: Cattle on Feed Preview

USDA’s monthly cattle on feed report for March will be released tomorrow. Analysts’ pre-report consensus estimates are for the total inventory on feed to be 99.3 percent of last year. Those estimates imply an on-feed inventory of 11.5 million head. The pre-report estimates were spl...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Export Sales

Export Sales and Shipments for March 6-12, 2026. Wheat: Net sales of 189,900 metric tons (MT) for 2025/2026 were down 58 percent from the previous week and 36 percent from the prior 4-week average. Export shipments of 383,100 MT were down 11 percent from the previous week and 7 percent from the...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds biofuel

45Z: The Next Big Thing or the Next Big Mess?

The U.S. Treasury Department is (still!) working on the Section 45Z Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit.  The broad legislative effort for the act was launched in President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and picked up with some significant adjustments in President Trump’s One Big...

livestock

Livestock Roundup: Cattle on Feed Preview

USDA’s monthly cattle on feed report for March will be released tomorrow. Analysts’ pre-report consensus estimates are for the total inventory on feed to be 99.3 percent of last year. Those estimates imply an on-feed inventory of 11.5 million head. The pre-report estimates were spl...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Please see the attached summary sheet - page one: ...

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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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