World Perspectives
feed-grains

El Niño Sparks Corn Demand

Corn production in Sub-Saharan Africa has been volatile for decades but when technology and investment should have been making it less so, it has instead gotten worse. 

This year’s El Niño has helped make a bad situation worse. USAID’s Famine Early Warning System Network identified the problem many months ago when rainfall during December- February, the normally peak precipitation months, was underwhelming. The agency predicted “crisis level” food aid requirements in Zimbabwe, Malawi, Mozambique, and Madagascar. 

South Africa has had to import white corn for the first time since 2017, and Zambia’s corn crop was down by 50 percent and could require 1 MMT in imports. The situation could rev...

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feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Expected Biofuel Announcement Cannot Dislodge War Worries

Thursday marked the worst day for stocks in weeks despite word on the street to “buy,” since valuations have once again become attractive. But apparently not yet. History suggests a rebound with President Trump politically compelled to dream up some form of policy stimulus on top of...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

May 26 Corn closed at $4.62/bushel, down $0.05 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Wheat closed at $6.05/bushel, up $0 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soybeans closed at $11.5925/bushel, down $0.145 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soymeal closed at $315.3/short ton, down $6.8 from ye...

Transportation Perspectives - 27 March

President Trump’s announcement on Monday this week that the U.S. would postpone any attacks on Iranian energy facilities for five days increased hopes that a peaceful and quick resolution can be found to the war. Subsequent conflicting messaging from both sides has undermined these hopes,...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Expected Biofuel Announcement Cannot Dislodge War Worries

Thursday marked the worst day for stocks in weeks despite word on the street to “buy,” since valuations have once again become attractive. But apparently not yet. History suggests a rebound with President Trump politically compelled to dream up some form of policy stimulus on top of...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

May 26 Corn closed at $4.62/bushel, down $0.05 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Wheat closed at $6.05/bushel, up $0 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soybeans closed at $11.5925/bushel, down $0.145 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soymeal closed at $315.3/short ton, down $6.8 from ye...

Transportation Perspectives - 27 March

President Trump’s announcement on Monday this week that the U.S. would postpone any attacks on Iranian energy facilities for five days increased hopes that a peaceful and quick resolution can be found to the war. Subsequent conflicting messaging from both sides has undermined these hopes,...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Export Sales

Export Sales and Shipments for March 13-19, 2026.  Wheat: Net sales of 397,200 metric tons (MT) for 2025/2026 were up noticeably from the previous week and up 46 percent from the prior 4-week average. Export shipments of 383,500 MT were unchanged from the previous week, but down 10 percent...

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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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