World Perspectives

Inflation Whiff; Indian Scraps; Capitol Coup

Inflation Whiff Kiev is not just battling a Russian-led insurrection in the Donbas but is also trying to fight food inflation, which hit 11.3 percent in 2021 and 13.3 percent in December alone. Its solution is price controls, limiting the margin earned on trading major food products to 10 percent. Meanwhile, the price of gas used to fertilize, process and transport food has climbed ten-fold over the past year. Price controls are an old tactic that most economists consider counterproductive. Since price is the primary means for regulating supply and demand, artificially suppressing the price increases demand for what otherwise might be a limited supply. The result is increased shortages and likely the creation of a black market where higher...

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feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Export Sales

Export Sales and Shipments for April 4-10, 2025.  Wheat: Net sales of 76,500 metric tons (MT) for 2024/2025 were down 29 percent from the previous week, but up 2 percent from the prior 4-week average. Export shipments of 483,500 MT were up 43 percent from the previous week and 11 percent f...

livestock

Cattle on Feed - April 2025

U.S. cattle on Feed totaled totaled 11.6 million head on April 1, 2025 - 2 percent below April 1, 2024.  Placements in feedlots during March totaled 1.84 million head, 5 percent above 2024.  Marketings of fed cattle during March totaled 1.73 million head, 1 percent above 2024.  O...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

May 25 Corn closed at $4.8225/bushel, down $0.02 from yesterday's close.  May 25 Wheat closed at $5.4875/bushel, up $0.01 from yesterday's close.  May 25 Soybeans closed at $10.365/bushel, down $0.0225 from yesterday's close.  May 25 Soymeal closed at $295.6/short ton, down $1.1...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Export Sales

Export Sales and Shipments for April 4-10, 2025.  Wheat: Net sales of 76,500 metric tons (MT) for 2024/2025 were down 29 percent from the previous week, but up 2 percent from the prior 4-week average. Export shipments of 483,500 MT were up 43 percent from the previous week and 11 percent f...

livestock

Cattle on Feed - April 2025

U.S. cattle on Feed totaled totaled 11.6 million head on April 1, 2025 - 2 percent below April 1, 2024.  Placements in feedlots during March totaled 1.84 million head, 5 percent above 2024.  Marketings of fed cattle during March totaled 1.73 million head, 1 percent above 2024.  O...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

May 25 Corn closed at $4.8225/bushel, down $0.02 from yesterday's close.  May 25 Wheat closed at $5.4875/bushel, up $0.01 from yesterday's close.  May 25 Soybeans closed at $10.365/bushel, down $0.0225 from yesterday's close.  May 25 Soymeal closed at $295.6/short ton, down $1.1...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Pre-Holiday Low Volume with Mixed Outcomes

There might be more life on the planet K2-18b than was seen in some of the trading pits today. While some contracts closed higher and others lower, the one consistent thing was lower pre-holiday volume across grains and oilseeds.  Ahead of a three-day market hiatus, all major contracts clo...

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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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