In overnight futures trading, the grains were a bit firmer with soybeans hovering on either side of unchanged. The only news of consequence was a sharp, unexpected decline of the U.S. dollar versus sterling and the euro. The EU sent some sort of a finalization date in late November for Brexit, which caused both of those currencies to rally. Wheat and corn prices have traded in reverse lockstep with the U.S. dollar in recent days, moving lower when it strengthens, and we guess its sharp drop today helped put those futures into the green. However, what a difference a day or, in this case, a tweet makes! The much bigger macro influence came in the form of a tweet from President Trump about 9 a.m. (EDT) that suggested progress was being made i...
What You Need to Know Today: The corn and soybean markets closed slightly higher in low-volume trade. The wheat market was mixed, with HRW continuing its downward trek on improved moisture. As expected, the bearish cattle on feed report drove down cattle prices and pulled hogs down with it. Mi...
Monday, 25 May is a U.S. holiday, and both the markets and our office will be closed. Please note that the next issue of Ag Perspectives will be published on Tuesday, 26 May. The WPI staff wishes everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend...
USDA’s monthly cattle on feed report was released today. The total number of cattle on feed in feedlots with 1,000 head or more capacity amounted to 11.6 million head, 102 percent of last year. Source: USDA, WPI Placements were up, but part of that is attributable to persistent drought c...
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.