Soybeans futures were comparatively strong today with prices trading back and forth around unchanged before light commercial hedge pressure took prices lower by around 2 cents at the close. General Comments The Fed ended its September meeting by leaving its interest rate unchanged. Three months ago, the odds of an increase this month appeared to be very high. However, the odds of that occurring dropped to 50-50 or lower as devaluation of the yuan raised still unanswered questions about weaknesses in the Chinese economy, financial market turbulence grew during the summer and the Fed's 2 percent inflation goal seemed to be even further away now than it appeared in June. Thus, today's decision came as no surprise to financial markets. Stocks...
What You Need to Know Today: Chinese purchases of U.S. soybeans continued to accelerate, with USDA reporting another 558 KMT sold to China and 236 KMT to unknown destinations. Combined with sales announced Wednesday and Thursday, the latest purchases bring the three-day total to approximately...
Key Takeaways: With the fall calf run now upon us, producers are finally getting a glimpse of what their realized profits will be for 2026. Some producers may have already obtained a strong estimate of 2026 revenues, especially if calves were forward sold in, for example, the mid-summer...
As fall begins, wild migratory birds are starting their seasonal migration. That has the industry and government officials worried about the potential spread, again, of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Some members of Congress have called for the United States to be prepared for a pote...
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.