Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Turkey has been asked by the Ukraine to seize a vessel from Russia with 7...

The CBOT/CME markets will be closed on Monday, 4 July in observance of the U.S. Independence Day holiday. Please note that the next Ag Perspectives will be...

The CBOT was sharply lower to end the week with traders taking risk off the table amid Thursday’s post-USDA report weakness and a three-day weekend l...

Friday Trade Policy Shorts EU Procedural: Jurisdictional issues arise as the pesticide restrictions proposed in the EU fall under DG-Sante, but the funding...

Despite high gas prices, the American Automobile Association (AAA) is predicting heavy travel over this long weekend for the 4th of July holiday, forecasti...

Soybeans did not beat corn after all in the annual battle for acres. USDA’s Acreage report this week revealed that 88.33 million acres will be plante...

Dec 22 Corn closed at $6.075/bushel, down $0.1225 from yesterday's close.  Sep 22 Wheat closed at $8.46/bushel, down $0.38 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

Trading was mostly lower before USDA released its Acreage and Stocks reports at noon eastern time today. The reports could have been market movers but much...

Staying in Lanes Under ideal governance, elected legislatures create the principles of public policy. For example, pesticides should be used when proven sc...

Dec 22 Corn closed at $6.1975/bushel, down $0.34 from yesterday's close.  Sep 22 Wheat closed at $8.84/bushel, down $0.46 from yesterday's close. ...

As previewed on Tuesday, USDA released the quarterly Hogs and Pigs report yesterday. The report was neutral, coming very close to pre-report expectations...

Livestock Live Hog Price Remains Hot, Jumps More Than 6 Percent in One Day Tuesday saw the national average live hog price single day increase of RMB 1.12/...

Export Sales for June 17-23, 2022.   Wheat: Net sales of 496,700 metric tons (MT) for 2022/2023 primarily for the Philippines (68,000 MT), Brazil...

Dec 22 Corn closed at $6.5375/bushel, down $0.055 from yesterday's close.  Sep 22 Wheat closed at $9.3/bushel, down $0.06 from yesterday's close. ...

The CBOT ended mixed with the soy complex rallying on strong soymeal and a turnaround in soyoil prices, coupled with a hot, dry August U.S. weather forecas...

Food Crisis in Mexico Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador (AMLO) visits President Joe Biden in the White House next month and farme...

The so-called global food crisis is first and foremost driven by the wheat market, where production has been under stress in major countries like Pakistan,...

Russian Grains Markets: 20-24 June 2022 Russia launched harvesting in the Southern Federal District as well as in seized and annexed Ukrainian Crimea. Othe...

The CBOT posted a Turnaround Tuesday with corn, wheat, and the entire soy complex pushing higher after the recent weakness. Soybeans and soymeal led the ra...

USDA will release the quarterly Hogs and Pigs report tomorrow. All hogs and pigs as of 1 June are expected to be down 0.7 percent from last year to 72.641...

Properly Characterizing China Former President Donald Trump had a lot of choice descriptors for China, many of them crude. Europe tried the term “str...

The WTO has been searching for limits in fisheries subsidies since at least 2001. There was agreement earlier this month to curb subsidies, though overfish...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.595/bushel, up $0.1525 from yesterday's close.  Sep 22 Wheat closed at $9.36/bushel, up $0.185 from yesterday's close. ...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Egypt is hoping to increase the 2023 planted area by 1 million acres. In...

The CBOT selloff continued on Monday with new crop corn and wheat futures leading the way lower. Favorable weather for the Corn Belt pressured corn futures...

There is new economic data out showing that the economy is not destined for a recession (near term, anyway). The impact of increased interest rates may jus...

Stopping Transition Volatility Policymakers set targets related to sustainability to achieve desired end goals. These include reducing pesticide use by 30...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.4425/bushel, down $0.06 from yesterday's close.  Sep 22 Wheat closed at $9.175/bushel, down $0.19 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

Oil palms require fertilizer every three months to maintain productivity but Russia’s war in Ukraine has threatened world supplies and driven up pric...

Wheat Argentina’s wheat situation is increasingly complicated. It has not rained for several weeks, and the soil moistures are insufficient for plant...

U.S. Cattle on Feed up 1 percent on June 1, 2022 - at 11.8 million head. (USDA notes that this is the highest June 1 inventory since the series began in 19...

There was some reprieve today, but the cumulative toll of noncommercial selling has left its mark on the market. Speculators reduced their net long positio...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.5025/bushel, up $0.035 from yesterday's close.  Sep 22 Wheat closed at $9.365/bushel, down $0.1275 from yesterday's close.&nb...

USDA released its monthly cattle on feed report today; the inventory of cattle and calves on feed was 11.8 million, 101 percent above June 2021, and the hi...

Although soybeans closed higher today, it could not offset the losses over the previous four trading sessions and left July soybeans nearly a dollar lower...

Export Sales for June 10-16, 2022   Wheat: Net Export Sales of 477,800 metric tons (MT) for 2022/2023 primarily for Japan (163,900 MT), Mexico (1...

Markets remained under pressure today amid the scare of a recession and a drop in demand. The fear is somewhat overstated in grains and oilseeds since rece...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.4675/bushel, down $0.2125 from yesterday's close.  Sep 22 Wheat closed at $9.4925/bushel, down $0.395 from yesterday's close...

USDA will release its Cattle on Feed report tomorrow; analysts’ pre-report estimates peg the total number of cattle on feed as of 1 June at 101.5 per...

Gutsy USTR  USTR Katherine Tai is in an interagency battle over whether to lift tariffs on China to try and stem inflation, and she’s not backin...

The CBOT was mostly lower on Wednesday with a collapsing crude oil market and sharp selloffs in European commodity markets pressuring values. Tuesday&rsquo...

While many agricultural commodities are experiencing a boom in demand and prices, orange juice consumption has plummeted worldwide. Global demand over the...

Green Food Crisis Regardless of the war in Ukraine and a global food price shock, the EU is moving forward with its plan to cut by half the use of “r...

Macroeconomics COVID-19 Produces Largest Food Cost Increase in 18 Months  It has taken a few weeks, but data from China’s National Bureau of Sta...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.68/bushel, up $0.0725 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $9.765/bushel, up $0.0125 from yesterday's close. ...

Russian Grains Market: 13-17 June 2022 Russia launched its harvesting campaign which pushed grain prices down, especially in the Southern Federal District...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.62/bushel, up $0.0125 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $9.84/bushel, up $0.0875 from yesterday's close. ...

While outside financial markets worked at reversing last week’s plunge into bear territory, agricultural commodity markets started the shortened trad...

Last week, WPI reported that the House passed the Livestock Special Investigator Act as part of the Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act. Tomorrow, the Senate Agr...

Friends in High Places The Biden Administration submitted an amicus brief to the Supreme Court on the challenge by livestock producers to California’...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Saudi Arabia’s Almarai Dairy Products will be investing $107 millio...

The CBOT/CME markets and our offices will be closed Monday, 20 June 2022 in observance of the U.S. Juneteenth holiday. Please note that the next Ag Perspec...

The CBOT was mostly lower to end the week, but hints of strength were found in key markets. Specifically, July corn futures, while posting a loss for the d...

USDA release its Food Expenditure series data today through 2021. It is interesting data to look at given the current inflationary environment for food and...

The attached PDF offers graphical depiction and seasonal analysis of managed money and commercial traders' net position in key agricultural commodity marke...

Testy Meeting At the behest of her boss, President Biden, U.S. Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm has called an emergency meeting with oil refining executi...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.845/bushel, down $0.0375 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $10.3425/bushel, down $0.44 from yesterday's close.&...

Last week’s WASDE set the tone for the market with a nearly 10 percent cut in U.S. soybean carryover in 2022/23, a deeper cut than expected. Then Mal...

For the most part, agricultural commodity markets ignored the blood bath on Wall Street. December corn broke through resistance, soybeans earned back some...

The House of Representatives today passed the Lower Food and Fuel Costs Act. The legislation was primarily a vehicle to pass the Livestock Special Investig...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.8825/bushel, up $0.1425 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $10.7825/bushel, up $0.2825 from yesterday's close.&n...

Developing versus Developing at WTO India’s Commerce Minister, Piyush Goyal proclaimed to be speaking for all developing countries as held WTO negoti...

Export Sales for June 3 - June 9, 2022.   Wheat: Net sales of 236,900 metric tons (MT) for 2022/2023.    Corn:  Net sales of 140,9...

Macroeconomics Survey of Shanghai Businesses Reveal Severe Economic Distress The American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai recently published the findings f...

The CBOT was mixed at mid-week with limited trading volume as traders are generally reluctant to add more risk to positions heading into the long holiday w...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.74/bushel, up $0.0575 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $10.5/bushel, down $0.0025 from yesterday's close. ...

Inflation Pushes Liberalized Trade Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from TPP and imposed tariffs on trading partners. Joe Biden has proposed some new trade m...

Japan is not alone in switching away from rice and toward other crops. Rice production has grown slower globally over the past ten years than other crops l...

Russian Grains Market: 6-10 June 2022 Russian markets remained bearish, however the market where prices are formed – Black Sea export market –...

The CBOT was lower again on Tuesday as fresh economic lockdowns in China and another day of selloffs in macroeconomic markets weighed on ag futures. The so...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.6825/bushel, down $0.01 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $10.5025/bushel, down $0.2075 from yesterday's close...

Agritech Emphasis Climate change, geopolitical conflict and food security are coming together and changing global agriculture. Supply chain and technology...

The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FMOC) convenes its June meeting today, concluding any action it might take by tomorrow. Last Fri...

In Japan, rice has been called the essence of culture; it has meant more than just food, though food security is the basis for policy interventions to prot...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Iran reports that its cereals imports for 2022/23 will drop by 25 percent...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.6925/bushel, down $0.04 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $10.71/bushel, up $0.0025 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

Last week’s inflation data spooked equity and other macroeconomic markets with S&P 500 futures opening 2 percent lower overnight. That was as goo...

The start of the 12th WTO Ministerial in Geneva does not provide much hope for the rest of the week. The EU and U.S. delegations walked out when Russia&rsq...

The OECD notes the advantages of poultry meat over competing major animal proteins pork and beef. Its lower cost due to a better feed conversion ratio part...

Friday’s June Word Agriculture Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report raised its forecast for total red meat and poultry production slightly over...

Wheat Wheat continues to capture the attention of many traders and analysts in Argentina. Planting continues to be delayed due to lack of soil moisture and...

Regional News  Morocco abandoned import taxes previously placed on sunflower seed, soybeans, and rapeseed.  Milling Wheat  U.S. and EU wheat...

CBOT markets were mostly quiet and weaker overnight heading into the June WASDE report from USDA. The report was generally in-line with expectations, which...

Policymaking is Hard Washington has long had troubles agreeing on major legislation and now the EU is hitting hurdles. Te European Parliament first rejecte...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.7325/bushel, up $0.0025 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $10.7075/bushel, down $0.005 from yesterday's close.&...

It was a big day for market-moving reports with the WASDE report (see Matt Herrington’s analysis) and the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report from the...

USDA’s June 2022 estimate for the seasonal average price of U.S. soyoil in 2022/23 is unchanged at 70 cents per pound.  ...

USDA’s June 2022 estimate for the seasonal average price of U.S. soymeal in 2022/23 is unchanged at $400 per short ton.  ...

USDA’s June 2022 estimate of U.S. soybeans is for lower beginning and ending stocks and higher prices in 2022/23. U.S soybean ending stocks are down...

USDA’s June 2022 estimate is for increased ending stocks of U.S. corn by 40 million bushels. U.S. exports are lowered 50 million bushels, based on re...

USDA’s June 2022 estimate is for slightly lower ending stocks of global wheat.  Projected 2022/23 world ending stocks are lowered 0.2 million to...

S&D The oilseeds supply cinches ever tighter but it will respond to the extent it can. Malaysian palm oil production is projected to increase 3 percent...

The overnight session was a yawner and Thursday morning’s trading at first appeared to follow. However, about an hour and a half in, suddenly corn an...

USDA’s meat trade data for April were released this week, and global beef demand remains exceptionally strong, despite all the various hurdles and ch...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.73/bushel, up $0.085 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $10.7125/bushel, down $0.035 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

Domestic Tariff War Tariffs are applied to imported goods but in the U.S. the debate over their application to China has become a domestic fight. U.S. Trea...

Export Sales for May 27-June 2, 2022.   Wheat: Net sales of 451,000 MT for the 2022/2023 marketing year, which began June 1.  Corn: Net sale...

The CBOT was mostly higher on Wednesday with soybeans again leading the way. Strong commercial demand for soybeans is pushing basis levels sharply higher a...

Livestock Weak Demand Continues to Hold Back Live Hog Prices According to latest surveys conducted by China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), th...

WTO Reforms Brazil has proposed annual instead of biennial ministerial meetings. The U.S. and EU agree with this plan, arguing it would make the WTO more r...

U.S. domestic wheat flour consumption boomed in 2020 when the COVID quarantine created a surge in home baking aficionados. In what may be a foretelling of...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.645/bushel, up $0.075 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $10.7475/bushel, up $0.03 from yesterday's close. ...

Russian Grains Markets: 30 May – 3 June 2022 Russian markets remained bearish, however in certain geographical areas prices were stagnant where selle...

Non-Russia fundamentals were finally at the forefront of the CBOT on Tuesday with corn and soybean futures rallying on strong commercial demand and bull sp...

The House Agriculture Committee will hold two farm bill hearings this week, one on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and one on crop pro...

Sacrificing the Future The ASPCA has announced $100,000 in grants for its Fund to End Factory Farming. Like others in the small is better camp, the result...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.57/bushel, up $0.145 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $10.7175/bushel, down $0.2125 from yesterday's close.&nb...

India is the world’s largest exporter of rice and Refinitiv points out that India’s export rice prices have been consistently lower than that o...

Over the weekend, Russia intensified its offensive in eastern Ukraine and bombed a Cargill-owned export facility in southern Ukraine. The export facility f...

Orbán and AMLO The EU must contend with Hungarian President Viktor Orbán and the U.S. must contend with Mexican President Andrés Manue...

As Matt Herrington noted on Friday, the Environmental Protection Agency released the final required volume obligations (RVO) rule which set the biofuels bl...

FAO Director General Qu Dongyu told the World Potato Conference that the global potato crop could double over the next decade to take a larger role in feed...

Wheat Lack of rain and low soil moisture are still issues for Argentine farmers as they approach the wheat planting window. A few days ago, small areas rec...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.425/bushel, up $0.155 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $10.93/bushel, up $0.53 from yesterday's close.  J...

Regional News  Ukraine’s spring planting has reached 13.182 Mha, 78 percent of the expected acreage. Of that, 4.553 Mha were sown to corn (83 pe...

The CBOT was mostly lower to end the week with cattle and soyoil the only major markets to post gains. China is on its Dragon Boat holiday, which kept mark...

The attached PDF offers graphical depiction and seasonal analysis of managed money and commercial traders' net position in key agricultural commodity marke...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.27/bushel, down $0.0325 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $10.4/bushel, down $0.1825 from yesterday's close.&nb...

Export Sales for May 20-26, 2022  Wheat:  Net sales 700 metric tons (MT) for 2021/2022 were down noticeably from the previous week and down 98 pe...

Flailing on Inflation Many months after inflation began eating into pocketbooks, the Biden Administration is on a full court press to try and address the p...

Over this past week, soybeans have gone up 50 cents in value and fallen 50 cents in value. Today, they appear to be falling again. Unlike wheat, the volati...

Mexico announced last month that it is suspending import duties on 66 tariff lines for food and input items in order to fight inflation. The suspension wil...

After sharp losses earlier in the week, the market turned around today for everything but July corn. Egypt’s GASC paid a record sum for wheat, indica...

Livestock Live Hog Price Continues Run, White Feather Broilers Rebound China’s national average live hog price continued its steady climb to close ou...

Biden Trade Policy The Biden Administration’s approach to trade policy continues to be plodding and cautious. After meeting with New Zealand Prime Mi...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.3025/bushel, down $0.01 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $10.5825/bushel, up $0.17 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

A key question now that the meat and poultry markets are moving into the high demand season is how consumer demand will hold up – especially compared...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.3125/bushel, down $0.2225 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $10.4125/bushel, down $0.4625 from yesterday's clos...

The CBOT attempted to stabilize overnight and in early-morning trade on Wednesday, but headlines from the Black Sea and persistent long liquidation pushed...

USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced at last $2.1 billion for various programs under a “Framework for Shoring Up the Food Supply Chain and Tran...

Depending on global commodity supply/demand balances, crop prices tend to decline at harvest and then rise as the marketing year progresses and surplus sup...

Russian Grain Markets: 23-27 May 2022 Russian weather forecasting center chief Roman Wilfand is predicting a good grains and oilseeds crop this season. Coo...

Very few people, other than apparently some in the grain trade, trust Vladimir Putin. The continued belief that he will allow grain to begin flowing out of...

Last Thursday, WPI reported on the new rule and notice of proposed rules coming from the Packers and Stockyard Division (PSD) of the Agricultural Marketing...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.535/bushel, down $0.2375 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $10.875/bushel, down $0.7 from yesterday's close.&nb...

Trade versus Aid Former New Zealand Trade Ambassador Mike Moore made note that through most of the multilateral trade negotiations, developing countries ha...

An analysis by Bloomberg revealed how dominant China is in trading with nations in the Indo-Pacific. In a subset of 15 countries, the closest balance in tr...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Turkey reportedly rejected a shipment of 57,000 MT of Indian durum wheat...

With crops in short supply and weather far from perfect, traders did not want to be short corn, wheat, and soybeans going into a three-day hiatus in tradin...

Monday, 30 May is a U.S. holiday, the markets and our office will be closed. Please note that the next Ag Perspectives will be published on Tuesday, 31 May...

Yesterday, USDA announced that farmers in their last year of Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) contracts can opt out early this year. About 3.4 million ac...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.7725/bushel, up $0.1225 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $11.575/bushel, up $0.1425 from yesterday's close.&nb...

Middle Kingdom Approach U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken articulated the Biden Administration’s policy toward China in a highly nuanced fashion...

Troubled Northern Beans There are nearly weekly reports of new U.S. soybean crushing plants being built to accommodate the policy-driven demand for renewab...

An overly cautious market let go of the tease that Russia might negotiate the exit of Ukrainian grain. Vladimir Putin cannot abide the UN’s wishes be...

USDA’s Ag Marketing Service Packers and Stockyards Division (PSD) released a draft of the first of three proposed rules today: Transparency in Poultr...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.65/bushel, down $0.0725 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $11.4325/bushel, down $0.05 from yesterday's close.&n...

Bark Worse than Bite The Biden Administration has proposed new rules for poultry companies to be more transparent with growers about the number of chicks t...

Export Sales for May 13-19, 2022. Wheat:  Net sales reductions of 2,300 metric tons (MT) for 2021/2022--a marketing-year low--were down noticeably fro...

The CBOT turned lower again on Wednesday with wheat leading the way on headlines that Russia may establish export corridors for Ukrainian grain/ag products...

Public Health COVID Deaths Fall to One Per Week, Lockdown Damage Deepens Through yesterday, data from Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Center indicate the trailin...

IPEF Missing Link The Biden Administration’s Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) is a set of laudable goals, but it lacks the traditional grease b...

Major wheat exporters have a tremendous opportunity if they can take their advantage. India was thought to be in the catbird seat. Production was going to...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.7225/bushel, up $0.005 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $11.4825/bushel, down $0.065 from yesterday's close.&n...

Russian Grains Markets: 16-20 May 2022 As of 17 May, spring planting was in line with last year, yet still behind 2020 by 40 percent and 2019 by 30 percent...

The CBOT waivered again on Tuesday with corn and wheat posting losses for the day while soybeans firmed once again. News that China is likely to soon appro...

Crazy Ideas Whenever there is a spike in commodity prices, the craziest ideas are put forth to supposedly solve the “problem.”  Leading th...

Yesterday, we covered the outline of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) and the role that plays in relation to China. Now, the Biden Administration...

Shipping and refrigeration costs become larger factors in trade during periods of high energy prices such as the present. Suppliers with lower energy costs...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.7175/bushel, down $0.145 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $11.5475/bushel, down $0.3525 from yesterday's close...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Egypt’s Central Bank has increased interest rates by 2 percent to a...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.8625/bushel, up $0.075 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $11.9/bushel, up $0.2125 from yesterday's close. ...

CBOT grains posted slight gains for the day while the soy complex worked its way lower as traders unwound long grain/short soy spreads that were placed las...

April 2022 total red meat and poultry stocks were up from March and were 8.3 percent greater than April 2021 as the industry continues to rebuild stockpile...

IPEF Reality President Biden’s launch of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework is a confusing mess but is unlikely to be what the Chinese are calling &...

On his trip to Asia, President Biden announced the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) for Prosperity, along with 12 countries in the region. The plan i...

Corn Currently, Argentina’s corn harvest is 27.4 percent complete after advancing another 1 percent last week. The harvest is significantly delayed c...

Regional News  The European Parliament approved duty-free imports of agricultural products from Ukraine for a one-year period. The U.S. is reportedly...

The CBOT traded an odd day on Friday with wheat futures selling off sharply despite private estimates of a Kansas HRW crop nearly 10 Mbu below USDA’s...

Embarrassing Distortions Populists in the U.S. Congress are once again going after Big Ag, and as usual with faulty figures. Some are calling on the Federa...

The attached PDF offers graphical depiction and seasonal analysis of managed money and commercial traders' net position in key agricultural commodity marke...

USDA released its monthly Cattle on Feed report today; the inventory of cattle and calves on feed was 12 million, 2 percent above May 2021, and the highest...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.7875/bushel, down $0.045 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $11.6875/bushel, down $0.3175 from yesterday's close...

Soybeans added almost 59 cents/bushel this week and closed back above $17/bushel indicating demand remains strong even as carryover is predicted to rise. S...

Export Sales for May 6-12, 2022 Wheat:  Net sales of 8,500 metric tons (MT) for 2021/2022--a marketing-year low--were down 40 percent from the previou...

Commodity traders should be grateful they are not equity traders. The broader economy presents less certainty than agricultural balance sheets that will ta...

USDA will release its Cattle on Feed report tomorrow. Analysts’ pre-report estimates peg the total number of cattle on feed as of 1 May at 101.5 perc...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.8325/bushel, up $0.0175 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $12.005/bushel, down $0.3025 from yesterday's close.&...

Conglomerate Vision Agribusinesses are paying attention. They along with oil companies are being blamed for inflation via gouging. There is an effort to ra...

The CBOT was sharply lower for the day with corn and soyoil breaking technical support levels while soybeans pulled back but maintained their recent tradin...

Public Health Case Count Falls Further, Economic Impact Worsens The trailing seven-day average for new COVID-19 cases and related deaths has continued to d...

Misdiagnosed U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said this week that, “Higher food and energy prices are having stagflationary effects, namely depre...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.815/bushel, down $0.1925 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $12.3075/bushel, down $0.4675 from yesterday's close...

Global food security is supposed to be broadly at risk but acute tightness in grain stocks is more limited to wheat. Global rice stocks are about the same...

Russian Grain Markets: 9-13 May 2022 Most businesses were closed from 1-9 May as Russians celebrated Soviet holidays. Trade has now resumed and there is a...

The CBOT traded a generally bullish day with wheat futures forging a classic bullish day on the charts. Wheat futures opened higher, traded sharply lower t...

USDA announced yesterday the details of a $10 billion package of disaster loss crop payments passed by Congress last year; the plan passed in September (wh...

World leaders express great concern that the level of world food insecurity is worsening under the weight of the Russian war on Ukraine. Then there are the...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $8.0075/bushel, down $0.0875 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $12.775/bushel, up $0.3 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

Multilateral is Dead; Long Live Plurilaterals Former WTO Director-General Roberto Azevêdo said this week that the ability of the organization to achi...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Egyptian officials have requested exemption from India’s recent exp...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $8.07/bushel, down $0.025 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $12.67/bushel, up $0.195 from yesterday's close. ...

Over the weekend, India announced a ban on wheat exports following the massive heat waves that have severely hurt the country’s yields. Before the ba...

Friend-shoring Agriculture When the EU-U.S. Trade and Technology Council (TTC) platform was launched last fall, there was no war in Ukraine, and there was...

President Biden has announced his intention to nominate Alexis Taylor as Undersecretary for Trade and Foreign Agricultural Affairs. Taylor has served as th...

Wheat Amid controversy and conflicting opinions, the Argentine government authorized the planting and commercialization of transgenic (genetically modified...

Regional News  Drought in Europe is becoming increasingly concerning with projections for EU wheat yields deteriorating. Areas of western Europe and t...

The U.S. Federal Reserve is trying to accomplish a so-called soft-landing of the economy back down to a low inflation, modest growth, low unemployment scen...

SOYOIL:  USDA's outlook is for global oilseed production in 2022/23 to be 647.1 million tons, rising 50.3 million from last marketing year when drough...

SOYMEAL: USDA’s outlooks is for the U.S. soybean crush in 2022/23 to be 2.26 billion bushels, up 40 million from the 2021/22 forecast.  Domestic...

SOYBEANS:  USDA’s outlook is that the U.S. soybean crop in 2022/23 will be at 4.64 billion bushels, up 5 percent from last year.  U.S. endi...

CORN:  USDA’s outlook is that the U.S. corn crop will be 14.5 billion bushels, down 4.3 percent from last year. The corn yield is projected at 1...

WHEAT:  USDA’s outlook for 2022/23 is for higher U.S. wheat prices. U.S. 2022/23 wheat supplies are projected down 3 percent, as lower beginning...

The CBOT was sharply higher in trade that continued the bullish reaction to Thursday’s WASDE report. All three wheat classes and new crop corn future...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.8125/bushel, down $0.1025 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $11.775/bushel, down $0.0125 from yesterday's close...

Novel and Magnanimous Ukraine has 20 MMT of grain that need to be exported over the next three months before the next crop comes off the fields and needs a...

Add diesel fuel supplies to market anxieties over shortages and high prices. Diesel hit all-time record prices this week. Both gasoline and diesel rose sha...

WASDE Key Points Everything in oilseeds world goes higher: Global oilseed production at 647 MMT (+8 percent). Global soymeal production (4.25 percent) and...

Poor spring planting conditions forced USDA to throw its usual cautiousness to the wind as the May WASDE affirmed a bull market. The market firmed ahead of...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.915/bushel, up $0.03 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $11.7875/bushel, up $0.6575 from yesterday's close. ...

Size Informs Policy The policy wonk contingency hoping to refocus the 2023 farm bill on small farms and growing fruits and vegetables should note where Pre...

Retail price inflation continues to be an unwieldy political problem for the Biden Administration – especially prices at the gas pump and grocery she...

Export Sales for April 29-May 5, 2022.  Wheat:  Net sales of 14,100 metric tons (MT) for 2021/2022--a marketing-year low--were down 88 percent fr...

The CBOT was higher the day before the May WASDE with traders turning more bullish amid persistently challenging weather forecasts for the world’s ma...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.885/bushel, up $0.1325 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $11.13/bushel, up $0.2025 from yesterday's close. ...

Jurisdictional Mayhem According to the Constitution, the U.S. Congress has the power to regulate trade among the several states, but it does not have the o...

Public Health China Double Downs On Zero COVID-19 Strategy As with its public attitude toward Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, China’s leadership...

Food prices have increased but not as much as energy costs. The latest CPI data shows food at home increased year-on-year in April by 10.8 percent, and by...

Russian Grain Markets: 2-6 May 2022 Russian grain traders have continued to decrease their bids in the Black Sea and Azov Sea ports which are now 100 perce...

The CBOT posted a soft rebound on Tuesday with corn, KCBT wheat, and soybeans edging higher to end with small gains for the day. Funds were modest net buye...

Reprieve on Emissions Data At the request of U.S. farm groups, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has extended the deadline for public comments o...

Food safety lawyer Shawn Stevens points out that the incidence of food borne illnesses in the U.S. have been in decline. The number of incidents dropped du...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.7525/bushel, up $0.0325 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $10.9275/bushel, up $0 from yesterday's close. ...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Egypt has begun to harvest trial plantings of GMO wheat that is expected...

Macro markets melted down again on Monday as rising interest rates and inflation cause a sustained effort to reprice assets and their relative risk. Its im...

Despite claims by U.S. Farm Bill critics like Senator Cory Booker (D-New Jersey) that the American food system is “broken,” Congress will not r...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.72/bushel, down $0.1275 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $10.9275/bushel, down $0.1575 from yesterday's close...

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization says 25 MMT of exportable grain are stuck in Ukraine and threatening global food security. Canadian Prime...

Corn Argentina’s corn harvest continues to move at a slow pace as producers are still focused on harvesting soybeans and the corn still has high mois...

Regional News  Ukrainian President Zelenskiy called on the international community to end the Russian blockade of Ukraine’s export ports to avoi...

The CBOT ended the week on a mixed note with the soy complex continuing its selloff with additional pressure from sharp losses in palm oil futures. Corn wa...

The attached PDF offers graphical depiction and seasonal analysis of managed money and commercial traders' net position in key agricultural commodity marke...

Production At a critical time when the world needs more oilseeds, humans and Mother Nature are conspiring against it. Excessively wet conditions have delay...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.8475/bushel, down $0.1275 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $11.085/bushel, up $0.02 from yesterday's close.&nb...

Geopolitics Rule During the Cold War, U.S. military planners trumped efforts by American agriculture to challenge the trade distorting effects of the EU&rs...

Action elsewhere was modest but there was large volume in the wheat pits with a second day in a row of strong closes. Corn and soybeans gained a few pennie...

Jul 22 Corn closed at $7.975/bushel, up $0.0325 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $11.065/bushel, up $0.3 from yesterday's close. ...

Last week’s hearings over proposed cattle market reforms took up nine hours across two days in both chambers of Congress. These hearings, like the si...

Food Policy Confusion The White House announced that it will host the first conference on hunger, nutrition, and health in over 50 years in September. The...

Export Sales for April 22-28, 2022. Wheat: Net sales of 118,800 metric tons (MT) for 2021/2022 were up noticeably from the previous week and up 53 percent...