World Perspectives

Packing Plant Hot Spots; Post COVID-19 Marco Outlook

Packing Plant Hot Spots As Matt Herrington reported last night, meat packing plants are the new COVID-19 hotspots. The CDC is expected to issue its report from its investigation of the Smithfield Sioux Falls pork plant in South Dakota very soon. Reportedly it calls for improved social distancing, expanded use of face shields and other protective equipment, and better communication between the company and workers. It will be the model of other states which are also dealing with the outbreaks. The State of Kansas has received additional personal protective equipment (PPE) from the national stockpile, and active planning is in place in Iowa and Minnesota. The goal is to keep the plants as operational as possible. As of last week, fed cattle...

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2025/2026 Trade Update

Almost none of the primary U.S. grain or oilseed offerings have made a solid start to 2025-26, as export sales for the upcoming marketing year are largely near multi-year lows. This is not yet a huge problem since the typical buying periods for the season’s supplies are mostly still in th...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

CFTC COT Report Analysis

Friday’s CFTC report was consistent with expectations in that it showed managed money traders becoming dedicated net buyers across nearly every major ag market, with the notable exception of cattle futures. The buying was most notable in soybeans where, despite the trade war, funds flippe...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Export Sales

Export Sales and Shipments for April 4-10, 2025.  Wheat: Net sales of 76,500 metric tons (MT) for 2024/2025 were down 29 percent from the previous week, but up 2 percent from the prior 4-week average. Export shipments of 483,500 MT were up 43 percent from the previous week and 11 percent f...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds

2025/2026 Trade Update

Almost none of the primary U.S. grain or oilseed offerings have made a solid start to 2025-26, as export sales for the upcoming marketing year are largely near multi-year lows. This is not yet a huge problem since the typical buying periods for the season’s supplies are mostly still in th...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

CFTC COT Report Analysis

Friday’s CFTC report was consistent with expectations in that it showed managed money traders becoming dedicated net buyers across nearly every major ag market, with the notable exception of cattle futures. The buying was most notable in soybeans where, despite the trade war, funds flippe...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Export Sales

Export Sales and Shipments for April 4-10, 2025.  Wheat: Net sales of 76,500 metric tons (MT) for 2024/2025 were down 29 percent from the previous week, but up 2 percent from the prior 4-week average. Export shipments of 483,500 MT were up 43 percent from the previous week and 11 percent f...

livestock

Cattle on Feed - April 2025

U.S. cattle on Feed totaled totaled 11.6 million head on April 1, 2025 - 2 percent below April 1, 2024.  Placements in feedlots during March totaled 1.84 million head, 5 percent above 2024.  Marketings of fed cattle during March totaled 1.73 million head, 1 percent above 2024.  O...

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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.

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