World Perspectives
farm-inputs

Notable TFP Changes

U.S. Secretary for Agriculture Tom Vilsack and EU Agriculture Commissioner Janusz Wojciechowski will be on the stage together next week at the Forum for the Future of Agriculture & Farm Europe. Mr. Vilsack has taken the position that increasing productivity is the pathway to sustainability whereas Europe is focused on mandatory reductions in certain inputs. USDA’s Economic Research Service has just issued its latest calculations of total factor productivity (TFP) for different countries. The agency’s TFP index is the ratio between inputs and outputs. If outputs grow faster than inputs, it results in a positive number relative to the 2015 baseline used in this exercise. The ratio can change year to year but for the most rece...

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Export Sales

Export Sales and Shipments for August 15-21, 2025  Wheat: Net sales of 579,800 metric tons (MT) for 2025/2026 were up 12 percent from the previous week, but down 10 percent from the prior 4-week average. Export shipments of 1,005,600 MT--a marketing-year high--were up noticeably from the p...

livestock

U.S. and Canadian Livestock Inventories

Yesterday, NASS and Statistics Canada released the 1 July cattle inventory in the two countries. Combined, the inventory was 106.1 million head, which was down to 99 percent of 2023 (the USDA suspended the July inventory report in 2024 due to budget constraints) and down to 92.4 percent of 2020...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.1/bushel, up $0.04 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Wheat closed at $5.29/bushel, up $0.0475 from yesterday's close.  Nov 25 Soybeans closed at $10.48/bushel, up $0.005 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Soymeal closed at $287.3/short ton, down $0.9 from yest...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Export Sales

Export Sales and Shipments for August 15-21, 2025  Wheat: Net sales of 579,800 metric tons (MT) for 2025/2026 were up 12 percent from the previous week, but down 10 percent from the prior 4-week average. Export shipments of 1,005,600 MT--a marketing-year high--were up noticeably from the p...

livestock

U.S. and Canadian Livestock Inventories

Yesterday, NASS and Statistics Canada released the 1 July cattle inventory in the two countries. Combined, the inventory was 106.1 million head, which was down to 99 percent of 2023 (the USDA suspended the July inventory report in 2024 due to budget constraints) and down to 92.4 percent of 2020...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.1/bushel, up $0.04 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Wheat closed at $5.29/bushel, up $0.0475 from yesterday's close.  Nov 25 Soybeans closed at $10.48/bushel, up $0.005 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Soymeal closed at $287.3/short ton, down $0.9 from yest...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Bears Control Grains while Bulls Dominate Livestock, but will the Trends Hold?

Trade in ag futures was a tale of two cities, with grains sinking into the red while the livestock markets rallied to fresh highs. Grains and oilseeds saw pressure from lackluster technical conditions and, for corn and wheat, expectations of ample domestic and global supplies. Soybeans saw weak...

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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.

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