If one was looking for the January WASDE to spark a directional change in the commodity markets, the day was surely disappointing. The day started off as called with continued buying in wheat and light profit taking in soyoil. Funds were selling corn heading into the report and pushed the market below technical support. That selling pressure, however, would not last the day. Early this morning, the weekly Export Sales report was posted. The report was issued one day later than usual, but its interpretation was predictable. The report was bearish corn with a paltry 6.4 mbu of net sales and 20.3 mbu of exports, the latter being half what was needed to keep pace with USDA’s (now smaller) export forecast. Soybean sales were below t...
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.