Once upon a time, grain and soy futures market spreads were major topics for discussion and analysis. However, it seems that interest in futures spreads has languished compared to the “old days.” Market spreads were actively traded by speculators in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. There was a small cadre of traders in the corn, soybean and wheat pits who specialized in spread trading either as speculation for their own account or as brokers executing orders from clients. Our sense is that interest in spread trading declined as speculation in grain markets became increasingly concentrated in managed money funds rather than in the hands of individual traders. The growing volume of trade based on chart trading and technical trading pr...
What You Need to Know Today: USDA reports are delayed until Tuesday due to the federal holiday on Monday. Over the weekend, President Trump announced a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Russia warmly welcomed and confirmed this ceasefire by conducting more strikes against Ukraine. Specific...
On Saturday, 10 October, at a campaign rally in Clarksville, Tennessee, President Trump said that the U.S. and Mexico would come to terms on a new trade deal, and he said Canada does not need to be part of the deal. Trump called the coming agreement with Mexico “great” but gave no d...
Key Takeaways: The United States has steadily lost global wheat export market share since the 1970s, falling from the world's leading exporter to a projected fifth place in 2026/27. The rapid expansion of Black Sea wheat exports, driven by improved productivity and export infrastructure, has r...
From WPI Consulting
Accountability and a comprehensive approach to export programming
WPI’s team helped construct a strategic approach to develop, implement, and track promotional activities in 8 key regions across the globe for an agricultural export association. With continued progress measurement and strategic advisory services from WPI, the association has seen its ROI from investments in promotional programming increase by 44 percent over the past 5 years. Not only does this type of holistic approach to organizational strategy provide measurable results to track and analyze, it fosters top-down and bottom-up organizational accountability.