The CBOT was mixed for the day with wheat futures sinking lower after the HRW and SRW growing regions received favorable rains Wednesday and early Thursday. That, combined with export pressure from Russia and the Black Sea countries, put wheat on the defensive with funds emerging as net sellers again. The pressure in wheat spilled over into corn and pushed the spot December contract lower, though bear spreading lifted deferred markets. Strong export sales and a rally in soyoil sent the soybean market higher, though the charts still look bearish. The markets are now largely focused on export trends and prices, weather for the Northern Hemisphere winter wheat crops, and rains in Argentina and Brazil. Seasonally, futures are approaching t...
Key Takeaways: The expansion of biofuel-driven soybean crushing was expected to increase soymeal supplies and pressure prices as soyoil became a larger driver of crush economics, but soymeal has instead retained considerable value. Strong domestic and global feed demand has helped absorb addit...
Beef packer margins improved to $176/head last week, up $19 from the prior week as the Choice cutout edged higher while fed cattle prices eased. The cutout rose to $376/cwt while fed cattle slipped to $222/cwt, modestly widening packer profits. Margins remain well above year-ago levels despite...
Last week, the Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) raised the federal funds rate by 0.25 percentage point to a target range of 3.75 to 4 percent. That was the first rate hike since mid-2023, and the vote was unanimous. President Trump, who nominated Kevin Warsh in March...
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.