World Perspectives
feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Food as a Weapon

If Russia can use nuclear weapons to blackmail the world, China has the surplus food stocks to coerce its national ambitions. Global ending stocks for major food crops were already tight before Russian invaded Ukraine, and the war has only exasperated the situation. They could drop by another 30 to 60 percent, depending on how long the conflict persists. The situation is most tenuous for nations that are concurrently poor and import dependent. For example, Egyptians obtain almost half their calories from wheat and import nearly 60 percent of their needs. One former government official says the situation is worse than the food crisis of 2008/09.  Some countries have begun restricting exports and hording grain, exacerbating a situation...

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feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Big Bullish Whopper

This last trading day of the first full trading week of 2025 came in like a whimper and went out with a bang. The trading day started with a notably sub-par Export Sales report from USDA. New commitments for wheat, corn, and soybeans all hit a marketing year low for export sales last week...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds

The Historic Context for January WASDE Yield Surprises

USDA surprised the commodity markets on Friday with bullish adjustments to the U.S. corn and soybean balance sheets, particularly the unexpected reductions in yields for both commodities. The surprise created by the latest balance sheet makes it worthwhile to evaluate the USDA’s adjusted estima...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Mar 25 Corn closed at $4.705/bushel, up $0.145 from yesterday's close. Mar 25 Wheat closed at $5.3075/bushel, down $0.0325 from yesterday's close. Mar 25 Soybeans closed at $10.2525/bushel, up $0.2625 from yesterday's close. Mar 25 Soymeal closed at $298.3/short ton, down $1 from...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Big Bullish Whopper

This last trading day of the first full trading week of 2025 came in like a whimper and went out with a bang. The trading day started with a notably sub-par Export Sales report from USDA. New commitments for wheat, corn, and soybeans all hit a marketing year low for export sales last week...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds

The Historic Context for January WASDE Yield Surprises

USDA surprised the commodity markets on Friday with bullish adjustments to the U.S. corn and soybean balance sheets, particularly the unexpected reductions in yields for both commodities. The surprise created by the latest balance sheet makes it worthwhile to evaluate the USDA’s adjusted estima...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Mar 25 Corn closed at $4.705/bushel, up $0.145 from yesterday's close. Mar 25 Wheat closed at $5.3075/bushel, down $0.0325 from yesterday's close. Mar 25 Soybeans closed at $10.2525/bushel, up $0.2625 from yesterday's close. Mar 25 Soymeal closed at $298.3/short ton, down $1 from...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Export Sales

Export Sales and Shipments for December 27, 2024 – January 2, 2025. Wheat: Net sales of 111,300 metric tons (MT) for 2024/2025--a marketing-year low--were down 21 percent from the previous week and 70 percent from the prior 4-week average. Export shipments of 414,300 MT were up 9 percent f...

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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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