World Perspectives
feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Early Harvest + Logistics Problems = Weak Basis

You would think that when supplies of corn and soybeans are headed to their tightest levels ever you would see strong basis levels. The opposite is true today. Certainly, the fact that corn and soybean harvests are underway is a major reason for the weakness in basis, but there are some other important reasons as well.

Harvests for every commodity are early this year. In fact, it isn't just early, it is extremely early. Spring wheat harvest that is normally completed in August was basically finished in July. The corn and soybean harvests in the Northern Plains already are actively underway, with moisture content in the soybeans as low as 8 percent and corn already at 20 percent or less. The weak basis isn't the result of farmers aggre...

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feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Energies Collapse on Ceasefire News but Grains Reclaim Early Losses

Once again, Trump, Iran, and the Middle East were the hub around which the CBOT trade revolved on Wednesday. Late Tuesday, the U.S. agreed to a two-week ceasefire agreement with Iran, just days after President Trump threatened to escalate attacks against the Middle Eastern country. In the annou...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

European Market Analysis

Regional News  Egypt is increasingly finding itself caught between Russia and Ukraine, in a battle for supplying its domestic wheat markets. Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, is facing political pressure and wooing from both Russian President Putin and Ukrainian President Ze...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Black Sea Regional Analysis

Russian Grain Markets: 30 March - 3 April 2026 Market overview The Russian grains market remained broadly stable during the week, with a slightly firmer undertone. Export values were mostly steady, while the domestic market moved modestly higher. Broader geopolitical tensions had only a limited...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Energies Collapse on Ceasefire News but Grains Reclaim Early Losses

Once again, Trump, Iran, and the Middle East were the hub around which the CBOT trade revolved on Wednesday. Late Tuesday, the U.S. agreed to a two-week ceasefire agreement with Iran, just days after President Trump threatened to escalate attacks against the Middle Eastern country. In the annou...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

European Market Analysis

Regional News  Egypt is increasingly finding itself caught between Russia and Ukraine, in a battle for supplying its domestic wheat markets. Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, is facing political pressure and wooing from both Russian President Putin and Ukrainian President Ze...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Black Sea Regional Analysis

Russian Grain Markets: 30 March - 3 April 2026 Market overview The Russian grains market remained broadly stable during the week, with a slightly firmer undertone. Export values were mostly steady, while the domestic market moved modestly higher. Broader geopolitical tensions had only a limited...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

May 26 Corn closed at $4.4725/bushel, down $0.0175 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Wheat closed at $5.8025/bushel, down $0.1775 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soybeans closed at $11.62/bushel, up $0.0375 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soymeal closed at $314.1/short ton, up $2.3...

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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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