World Perspectives
feed-grains livestock biofuel

Politics of Ethanol, Speculation and QE

Politics of Ethanol The Des Moines Register chides President Obama for visiting Iowa and highlighting his differences with Republican rival Mitt Romney over wind energy subsidies but saying nary a word about the larger controversy in the state: corn ethanol and the drought. His agriculture secretary, Tom Vilsack, made clear that he opposed an ethanol mandate waiver as it would hurt investor sentiment. This could eventually become another Shirley Sherrod moment for the farm chief. It is a political tightrope walk between grain farmers and food consumers, but it is a political absolute for livestock producers. The Kansas City Federal Reserve Bank notes that livestock producers are currently being hurt the worst. Producers on both sides o...

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feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Energies Collapse on Ceasefire News but Grains Reclaim Early Losses

Once again, Trump, Iran, and the Middle East were the hub around which the CBOT trade revolved on Wednesday. Late Tuesday, the U.S. agreed to a two-week ceasefire agreement with Iran, just days after President Trump threatened to escalate attacks against the Middle Eastern country. In the annou...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

European Market Analysis

Regional News  Egypt is increasingly finding itself caught between Russia and Ukraine, in a battle for supplying its domestic wheat markets. Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, is facing political pressure and wooing from both Russian President Putin and Ukrainian President Ze...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Black Sea Regional Analysis

Russian Grain Markets: 30 March - 3 April 2026 Market overview The Russian grains market remained broadly stable during the week, with a slightly firmer undertone. Export values were mostly steady, while the domestic market moved modestly higher. Broader geopolitical tensions had only a limited...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Energies Collapse on Ceasefire News but Grains Reclaim Early Losses

Once again, Trump, Iran, and the Middle East were the hub around which the CBOT trade revolved on Wednesday. Late Tuesday, the U.S. agreed to a two-week ceasefire agreement with Iran, just days after President Trump threatened to escalate attacks against the Middle Eastern country. In the annou...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

European Market Analysis

Regional News  Egypt is increasingly finding itself caught between Russia and Ukraine, in a battle for supplying its domestic wheat markets. Egypt, the world’s largest wheat importer, is facing political pressure and wooing from both Russian President Putin and Ukrainian President Ze...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Black Sea Regional Analysis

Russian Grain Markets: 30 March - 3 April 2026 Market overview The Russian grains market remained broadly stable during the week, with a slightly firmer undertone. Export values were mostly steady, while the domestic market moved modestly higher. Broader geopolitical tensions had only a limited...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

May 26 Corn closed at $4.4725/bushel, down $0.0175 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Wheat closed at $5.8025/bushel, down $0.1775 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soybeans closed at $11.62/bushel, up $0.0375 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soymeal closed at $314.1/short ton, up $2.3...

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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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