U.S. hog producers saw a mixed year in 2024 with early-year prices bringing poor profitability while the dramatic hog rally since the summer has lifted financial fortunes significantly. A major component of those rising prices was the unexpected surge in pork demand, which pushed the cutout to new seasonal highs this fall. Now, producers, packers, and pork buyers are wondering what 2025 will bring and how demand and prices will fare in the post-election environment. WPI has just completed an update to our long-term (one-year forward) outlook for the hog and pork markets. The major findings from this effort are that producers are likely to see strong prices for the coming year, and if crop prices do not rise significantly, strong profit...
Beef packer margins swung back into positive territory at $114/head last week, improving $164 from the prior week as the Choice cutout strengthened while fed cattle prices declined. The cutout rose nearly $8/cwt to $377/cwt, while fed cattle prices fell to $225/cwt, producing the strongest pack...
What You Need to Know Today: Pro Farmer’s crop tour pegged the 2026 U.S. corn crop at 173.2 BPA and anticipated a 15.344 Bbu crop – both figures well below expectations. Pro Farmer forecast 2026 U.S. soybean yields at 53.3 BPA, above most private estimates and USDA’s August W...
Key Takeaways: Gene editing makes targeted changes to a plant’s existing DNA, while genetic modification can introduce genetic material from another organism to create traits not naturally present in the crop. Gene editing is unlikely to replace genetic modification entirely, as the two...
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.