World Perspectives
livestock

Livestock Roundup: U.S. Cattle and Beef Markets and Brazil’s Cattle

This past week’s slaughter at 593,000 was down 7,000 head from the previous week and down 22,000 from last year. The fed cattle portion of the weekly slaughter continues to make a larger percentage of the total slaughter than prior years with cow slaughter of both dairy and beef cows in decline. Slaughter is down to the lowest levels since 2016, during the herd rebuilding coming out of the last trough of the cattle cycle in 2014-2015. As WPI noted last week, coming heifer retention as herd rebuilding starts will further tighten the supply of cattle sooner or later this fall.   Although we don’t have the USDA July cattle inventory report as a benchmark this year (cancelled due to budgetary reasons), it is likely the ca...

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feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

May 26 Corn closed at $4.555/bushel, up $0.0125 from yesterday's close.  Jul 26 Wheat closed at $6.2025/bushel, up $0.1325 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soybeans closed at $11.5975/bushel, down $0.0475 from yesterday's close.  Jul 26 Soymeal closed at $316.5/short ton, up $0.2...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: War Sustains Wheat; Corn Up Fifth Day

The Middle East truce is a rough one and the uncertainty spiked oil prices and the dollar again for another day. The wheat market has droughty conditions in the U.S., but globally there is pressure on a crop that gets both its fertilizer and a chunk of its demand from this volatile region. ...

livestock

Rotisserie Chicken Proposed to be Allowed Under SNAP

Senators Jim Justice (D-West Virginia), John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania), Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia), and Michael Bennet (D-Colorado) introduced the Hot Rotisserie Chicken Act, which would allow Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants to purchase hot rotisserie...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

May 26 Corn closed at $4.555/bushel, up $0.0125 from yesterday's close.  Jul 26 Wheat closed at $6.2025/bushel, up $0.1325 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soybeans closed at $11.5975/bushel, down $0.0475 from yesterday's close.  Jul 26 Soymeal closed at $316.5/short ton, up $0.2...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: War Sustains Wheat; Corn Up Fifth Day

The Middle East truce is a rough one and the uncertainty spiked oil prices and the dollar again for another day. The wheat market has droughty conditions in the U.S., but globally there is pressure on a crop that gets both its fertilizer and a chunk of its demand from this volatile region. ...

livestock

Rotisserie Chicken Proposed to be Allowed Under SNAP

Senators Jim Justice (D-West Virginia), John Fetterman (D-Pennsylvania), Shelley Moore Capito (R-West Virginia), and Michael Bennet (D-Colorado) introduced the Hot Rotisserie Chicken Act, which would allow Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants to purchase hot rotisserie...

livestock

Early 2026 Projections of Cow-Calf Finances

Key Takeaways: Despite rising cost pressures — including the recent run-up in fuel and energy costs — U.S. cow-calf producers are facing another year of record-breaking revenues and net returns for 2026. Cost pressures — particularly non-feed variable costs — and drough...

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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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