Monday’s CBOT trade was quiet with corn leading to the downside as funds continue to be net sellers. Soybean futures traded a mixed day with early short covering in soymeal offering support. Wheat future are looking for a bottom and may have found one with the market rallying 3-4 cents this afternoon. Fundamental news remains light and for now, it’s all about the U.S. weather forecast and exports. China’s new COVID-19 food safety regulations are causing confusion in physical meat markets. A memo that China’s CIQ (the equivalent to USDA APHIS) circulated to U.S. meat exporters warns that food exports to China will have to be COVID-19-free to be accepted for import. Some traders/exporters have reportedly not sig...
For years, the EU treated its cows, pigs, and broilers mainly as a source of emissions to be reduced. This week the European Commission gave them a new job title: "critical infrastructure." According to the EU’s official livestock strategy presented in Strasbourg, France, livestock underp...
Wool is one of the most misunderstood U.S. agricultural commodities. Fine wool in the 17–21 micron range commands premium prices in luxury apparel, technical outdoor gear, and high-end knitwear, while coarser wool is gaining support as building codes and standards shift toward natural-fib...
There are plenty of major headlines moving across the markets today, but the reaction beneath them remains cautious. Crude oil is holding steady despite reports of progress involving the Strait of Hormuz, corn and soybeans remain tied to changing weather forecasts, and wheat continues to weigh...
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.