Today's markets provided something for everyone, depending on when you looked. The corn market badly needs a story to tell, but it may not get one until the stocks and planting intentions report on 31 March – if then. General Comments Today's markets provided something for everyone, depending on when you looked. Grain and soy contracts all traded on both sides of Monday's closes but without establishing anything resembling a new trend. Corn and wheat prices are stuck sideways in the same trading range they have been in for a month or more. The soybean market seems conflicted. Facing huge soybean supplies, it acts as though it wants to work lower but is afraid to do so in case another strike pops up in Brazil to interfere with soybean move...
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
Communicating importance of value-added products
Facing increasing pressure to quantify the value of export promotion efforts to investors, a U.S. industry organization retained WPI to develop a quantitative model that better communicated the importance of exports. The resulting model concluded that value-added meat exports contributed $0.45 cents per bushel to the price of corn, increasing support for that sector’s financial support of WPI’s client. In addition to serving the red meat industry with this type of analysis, WPI has generated similar deliverables for the U.S. soybean and poultry/egg industries.