World Perspectives

USDA Trade Estimates Report Comes Under Scrutiny

USDA’s delay of its quarterly agricultural trade report, and exclusion of its typical explanatory text, raised concerns because the moves raised questions about the objectivity of the data. The bottom line is that the trade is uneasy about USDA statistics now. USDA data is considered a gold standard, used by much of the world, and any loss of trust in USDA’s veracity is potentially devastating.       A USDA spokesperson said the report was delayed by an internal review and was hung up in an internal clearance process and was not finalized in time for its typical deadline. Given this report is not statutory, as many other reports USDA does are, USDA is undergoing a review of all non-statutory reports, includin...

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feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Markets Rally as Shutdown Starts to End

CBOT markets rode a wave of enthusiasm Monday with the winds of a partial reopening of the U.S. government, China trade optimism, and USDA’s upcoming WASDE report driving the sentiment. The Senate broke the filibuster late Sunday night as several Democrats joined Republicans in passing th...

livestock

Trump Calls for Meat Packing Anti-Trust Investigation

Late Friday afternoon, President Trump called on the Department of Justice to investigate potential anticompetitive practices in the meatpacking industry. In an announcement on social media, he wrote: I have asked the DOJ to immediately begin an investigation into the Meat Packing Companies who...

Beef, Pasta, Inflation

Replicating his predecessor, Mr. Trump is blaming corporate price gouging for currently high beef prices. Charging the industry with “Illicit Collusion, Price Fixing, and Price Manipulation,” federal prosecutors will be trying to prove the implausible. After all, beef company margin...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Markets Rally as Shutdown Starts to End

CBOT markets rode a wave of enthusiasm Monday with the winds of a partial reopening of the U.S. government, China trade optimism, and USDA’s upcoming WASDE report driving the sentiment. The Senate broke the filibuster late Sunday night as several Democrats joined Republicans in passing th...

livestock

Trump Calls for Meat Packing Anti-Trust Investigation

Late Friday afternoon, President Trump called on the Department of Justice to investigate potential anticompetitive practices in the meatpacking industry. In an announcement on social media, he wrote: I have asked the DOJ to immediately begin an investigation into the Meat Packing Companies who...

Beef, Pasta, Inflation

Replicating his predecessor, Mr. Trump is blaming corporate price gouging for currently high beef prices. Charging the industry with “Illicit Collusion, Price Fixing, and Price Manipulation,” federal prosecutors will be trying to prove the implausible. After all, beef company margin...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.2975/bushel, up $0.025 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Wheat closed at $5.3575/bushel, up $0.08 from yesterday's close.  Jan 26 Soybeans closed at $11.3/bushel, up $0.13 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Soymeal closed at $320/short ton, up $2.9 from yester...

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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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