The big news of the week is USDA’s Prospective Plantings report showing farmers plan to sow more acres to soybean than to corn. If that outcome is realized, it will only be the third time this has occurred in modern U.S. farming history. The long-term dominance is why it is known as King Corn. The fact that fertilizer is now expensive and historically comprises three times the share of production cost in corn versus soybeans is the driver of this man bites dog tale. USDA’s report caused oilseed values to temporarily recede worldwide, but the bias is that farmers will plant more corn than they are contemplating today. The problem is that there is very little extra land to expand overall. The first quarter rally in commodit...
Dry bulk markets are steady/firmer this week with Capes leading the rally and, on the other end of the vessel size spectrum, strong grain demand supporting Handysize vessels too. Capesize rates soared again this week on strong Australian miner buying that stemmed from accelerated Chinese...
Key Market Insights Today was another reminder that this market is trading headlines first, facts second. Early optimism surrounding reports of a possible U.S.-Iran memorandum of understanding helped pressure energy risk premium and kept the broader commodity space defensive. An hour later, how...
Key Takeaways: Cattle producers are currently capturing a greater proportion of total retail beef values amid tight cattle supplies. Packers are forced to make higher bids on cattle to keep operations running when supplies are tight, hurting packer margins. Sustained poor packer margins...
From WPI Consulting
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.