Ukraine has announced an export stoppage for various agricultural commodities, including for oats, and Russia said it would restrict exports to certain mar...

The CBOT traded a mixed day with wheat once again the market’s focus. Wheat futures opened sharply lower as the short-covering rally ended and the ma...

On Friday we covered the chances of sanctions on imported Russian oil (and referred to it yesterday). Here are five key points from Friday’s report t...

May 22 Corn closed at $7.53/bushel, up $0.0225 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $11.9525/bushel, down $0.5725 from yesterday's close.&n...

Lacking Intellect The West has shown Russia how dependent it is on the capitalist financial system by imposing a wide range of sanctions. Russia is now str...

Analyses about the Russian war on Ukraine have tended to focus on the displacement of agricultural commodity sales and input shortfalls. However, the Biden...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Ukraine grain shipments may still be possible even with the main export p...

The war in Ukraine, which has found Russia increasingly desperate and increasingly targeting civilians as the Ukrainian resistance stalls progress, continu...

West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil futures hit $130.50/barrel Sunday night, while Brent crude reached a high of $139.13/barrel in overnight trading. T...

CBAM Compromise Until Russia’s Vladimir Putin decided to unite the West against him, the transatlantic policy fractures ran deep and wide. There was...

May 22 Corn closed at $7.5075/bushel, down $0.035 from yesterday's close.  Jul 22 Wheat closed at $12.525/bushel, up $0.7725 from yesterday's close.&n...

Western countries kicked Russia out of the WTO’s Developed Countries Coordinating Group and are seeking to remove normal trade relations with Moscow...

Wheat Finally, the Argentine government officially announced the wheat trust it has been developing. The trust’s aim is to maintain control of the lo...

Regional News  Russia’s ongoing attempt to take over Ukraine continues to drive Black Sea, European, and global grain markets. Ukraine’s e...

The wheat craziness continued overnight with May, July, and Sept CBOT and May, July, Sept, Dec, and Mar 2023 KCBT all locked limit-up after the overnight s...

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

May 22 Corn closed at $7.5425/bushel, up $0.065 from yesterday's close.  May 22 Wheat closed at $12.09/bushel, up $0.75 from yesterday's close. ...

Oil Policy Change President Biden’s White House is getting pressured to stop imports of Russian oil, and to increase drilling for domestic oil. Criti...

As is typical when there is a crisis – from foreign policy issues, to the China trade situation, to animal disease, to COVID, and more – the ma...

Before we get to the 800-pound bear (war), let’s cover some market basics. This would be an extraordinary market situation even without facing down a...

WPI has reported market data and analysis from Ukraine (and Russia) since 2005. We have accomplished this through our consultants in the region. If you&rsq...

The war in Ukraine continues to push commodity futures higher and today was not the end in that trend. The market is scrambling to replace the wheat and su...

May 22 Corn closed at $7.4775/bushel, up $0.2275 from yesterday's close.  May 22 Wheat closed at $11.34/bushel, up $0.75 from yesterday's close. ...

The Russian invasion into Ukraine now enters its second week; general expectations were that the whole conflict would be short-lived, but Ukraine has prove...

New Old China Strategy USTR’s annual trade policy report called for a new approach to China and the Wall Street Journal reports today that involves a...

Export Sales for February 18-24, 2022.     Wheat:  Net sales of 300,000 metric tons (MT) for2021/2022 were down 42 percent from the pre...

The CBOT continued its bullish panic buying overnight and wheat futures hit their expanded 75-cent daily price limit amid aggressive short covering. The mo...

The price of wheat went limit-up yet again today, which is problematic for poor countries importing the food stuff. It is particularly painful for Egypt si...

May 22 Corn closed at $7.25/bushel, down $0.0075 from yesterday's close.  May 22 Wheat closed at $10.59/bushel, up $0.75 from yesterday's close. ...

Flunking Economics The critiques of President Biden’s State of the Union speech last night reflect the biases of the authors, and WPI admits its narr...

Livestock Major Hog Company Facing Potential Bankruptcy The news of the day in China, outside of the war in Ukraine, pertains to market rumors that Zhengba...

Ukrainian forces continue to stymie the Russian attack, prompting Russia to intensify its efforts in Kharkov and Kiev. Russia warned that attacks on civili...

Diverse Trade Policy USTR’s Annual Trade Policy Review called for a change in policy toward China, though it provided no details. USTR Katherine Tai...

President Biden announced plans to release 30 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR). Other countries who are members of the Int...

May 22 Corn closed at $7.2575/bushel, up $0.35 from yesterday's close.  May 22 Wheat closed at $9.84/bushel, up $0.5 from yesterday's close.  May...

While the price of Brent crude is up 12 percent since Friday, fertilizer has increased 33 percent. Fertilizer values are priced to energy but now seem to b...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Turkish officials have said that the Ukraine/Russia situation will not re...

May 22 Corn closed at $6.9075/bushel, up $0.35 from yesterday's close.  May 22 Wheat closed at $9.34/bushel, up $0.7425 from yesterday's close. ...

The weekend moves by Western governments to remove Russia from the SWIFT international payment system have effectively ended grain trade from the Black Sea...

The House Agriculture Committee will hold a hearing tomorrow reviewing commodity groups’ perspectives on Title I crop programs. Scheduled to testify...

Thinking the Worst Maritime and natural resource security firm I.R. Consilium thinks Russia’s war intents could get worse and use food as a weapon. W...

Effects of Russia’s Invasion The war between Russia and Ukraine is beginning to affect Argentina’s spot market and WPI looks for these impacts...

While Russia had amassed $630 billion in foreign exchange reserves, its removal from SWIFT, the freezing of its overseas assets, and sanctions on its banks...

Regional News  Grain shipments from Ukraine have been suspended (and, at this point, seem likely to remain so for at least a month) while shipments fr...

The CBOT ended a volatile week with an exceptionally volatile day that included wheat settling 75 cents lower at the bottom of its expanded daily trading l...

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

May 22 Corn closed at $6.5575/bushel, down $0.345 from yesterday's close.  May 22 Wheat closed at $8.5975/bushel, down $0.75 from yesterday's close.&n...

Export Sales for February 11-17, 2022    Wheat:  Net sales of 516,900 metric tons (MT) for2021/2022 were up noticeably from the previous wee...

Western leaders have chosen not to inconvenience their citizens over simple Russian aggression. Vladimir Putin has now threatened the use of nuclear weapon...

USDA released its monthly Cattle on Feed report today; the inventory of cattle and calves on feed was 12.2 million, right in line with expectations, and as...

War Disruption Focusing first on the Bear in the Ukrainian living room, palm and soyoil prices have hit record levels on concern that sunflower seed may lo...

Markets opened big like the overnight but then, outside of wheat, it somewhat corrected itself, in part due to profit-taking. It was a volatile day with ne...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.95/bushel, up $0.1125 from yesterday's close.  May 22 Wheat closed at $9.3475/bushel, up $0.5 from yesterday's close.  M...

USDA will release its Cattle on Feed report tomorrow and it could be a record. Analysts’ pre-report estimates peg the total number of cattle on feed...

Getting Away with It The threats of sanctions did not deter Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and there is no reason to believe their implementati...

The CBOT rallied sharply again on Wednesday as tensions continue to escalate in Ukraine. Moreover, weather forecasts show little improvement for Brazil, Ar...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.8375/bushel, up $0.09 from yesterday's close.  May 22 Wheat closed at $8.8475/bushel, up $0.3225 from yesterday's close. ...

Deforestation Policy Europe’s effort to end deforestation has focused on blocking imported products from areas that have more recently undergone defo...

Even without the Nord Stream 2 pipeline, Germany is dependent upon Russia for 50 percent of its energy supplies. This is not the case for the U.S. Although...

Livestock Oversupply Remains, Piglet Prices Plunge The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs' (MARA) latest data release shows the domestic live piglet...

Russian Grain Markets: 14-18 February 2022 There was a lull in the domestic market with insignificant decreases in RUB for all grains. Russian ruble weaken...

The CBOT jumped higher overnight after news broke Monday afternoon that Russian President Putin announced he would recognize the independence of two separa...

January 2022 total red meat and poultry stocks were up from December but remained down 6.6 percent from January 2021 and at another five-year low for the m...

More to Come Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would not invade Ukraine and there was a whole dialogue around the meaning of invasion versus incursi...

The Senate Agriculture Committee held a hearing on 9 February, “Examining Digital Assets: Risks, Regulation, and Innovation.” It is easy to get...

The repeated threat of sanctions by the EU and U.S. were not enough to prevent Vladimir Putin from moving on Ukraine, and they likely will not be enough to...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.7475/bushel, up $0.205 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $8.4425/bushel, up $0.4725 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Morocco’s soft wheat subsidies are expected to reach $410 million i...

The CBOT/CME will be closed on Monday, 21 February 2022 for the U.S. President’s Day holiday. WPI will not issue an Ag Perspectives report on Monday...

The CBOT was higher to end the week with short covering and modest fund buying occurring ahead of the three-day weekend. Trading was generally slow, and vo...

Congress will be in recess next week for the President’s Day holiday and in-district work time. They will return on 1 March, which leaves 10 days to...

Interstate Trade War Georgetown University Professor Marc L. Busch notes that the trade agreement between Canada and the U.S. forced Canada to liberalize t...

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

It has been another week of solid gains in the oilseeds world. More analysts are tantalizing farmers with the prospect of record soybean prices. Beans in t...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.5425/bushel, up $0.0425 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.97/bushel, down $0.01 from yesterday's close. ...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.5/bushel, up $0.03 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.98/bushel, up $0.175 from yesterday's close.  Mar...

The markets are relatively stable, but the trade is sputtering as they assess current valuations amidst such uncertainty. The stability and uncertainty res...

Last week, we noted an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) in a turkey flock in Indiana. Approximately 29,000 birds were euthanized. Poult...

Trade Policy Confusion In its annual report to Congress yesterday on trade relations with China, USTR asserted that, “China has a poor record when it...

Macroeconomics Food Prices Fall Year-on-Year in January by Nearly 4 Percent In another sign that China’s domestic economy is seeing further contracti...

Export Sales for February 4-10, 2022.  Wheat:  Net sales of 118,100 metric tons (MT) for 2021/2022 were up 39 percent from the previous week, but...

After yesterday’s news that Russia moved as many as 10,000 troops away from the Ukrainian border in Belarus, NATO commanders refuted it, saying they...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.47/bushel, up $0.09 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.805/bushel, up $0.0075 from yesterday's close.  M...

Russian Grain Markets: 7-11 February 2022 Wheat prices on the Russian domestic market continued to decrease (except for Siberia), while feed barley and cor...

Money Talks The Conference Board notes that it has been a record year for shareholder proposals involving environmental and social initiatives. However, th...

Inflation is hitting agriculture hard. The cost of inputs like seed, fertilizer, and chemicals are rising much faster than core inflation. Because corn is...

Russia’s announcement that it will move 10,000 troops from Belarus back to Russia was viewed as a positive development in the Black Sea standoff. Mar...

According to beef grading data released by USDA, the percent of beef grading Choice and Prime hit record highs in the first weeks of 2022. Specifically, fo...

Irking Beijing Taiwan is working hard to beat China to membership in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)...

The U.S. government shut down avocado imports from Mexico’s Michoacán state after a federal inspector received presumably a threatening phone...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.38/bushel, down $0.1775 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.7975/bushel, down $0.195 from yesterday's close.&n...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION MEA region grain importers are very concerned over shipments of grain/oil...

The CBOT traded mostly lower for the day in low-volume, but corn and wheat rallied at the day’s end to post small gains. The soy complex remained und...

As we wrote just over one year ago, on 1 February 2021, … the general trend of fuel policy is clearly shifting the struggle from how much of the tan...

The announcement of an HPAI outbreak in a flock of turkeys in Indiana raised fears amongst the U.S. poultry industry. Still fresh in mind is the outbreak d...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.5575/bushel, up $0.0475 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.9925/bushel, up $0.015 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

Black Sea Ruse Global grain markets are said to be spiking higher on the prospect of a Russian invasion of Ukraine. After all, these two countries supply a...

Corn Argentina’s corn planting is finally concluded with a total of 7.3 Mha planted. The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange, which had been estimating an ex...

Regional News  French traders continue to express concern about losing wheat market share with Algeria and now China increasingly relying on Russian w...

The CBOT was heavily influenced by outside markets on Friday, especially the crude oil rally stemming from Biden administration comments about a looming Ru...

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

As of early February, U.S. farmers are facing decade high fertilizer prices going into the spring planting season. Moreover, the overall fertilizer price i...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.51/bushel, up $0.0925 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.9775/bushel, up $0.2625 from yesterday's close. ...

Meat of the Matter China’s five-year plan calls for an 11.5 percent increase in meat production by 2025. Others wonder why bother? The current HPAI o...

South America While USDA cakewalked its estimates this week for South American soybean production, Conab made the deep cut, predicting that Brazil’s...

Livestock Hog Futures from May Onward Trend Upwards as Market Reopens Prior to the start of the Lunar New Year holiday, live hog futures on the Dalian Comm...

In one of the more bizarre trading sessions of late, new contract highs were scored in corn, soybeans, soymeal, cattle, and hogs, and yet only soyoil ended...

The effort in Europe to label food for multiple societal purposes will eventually find its way to U.S. so policymakers in Washington should pay attention.&...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.4175/bushel, down $0.05 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.715/bushel, down $0.135 from yesterday's close.&nb...

The beef production forecast was up over last month based on the large number of cattle on feed. Specifically, December placements were the highest on reco...

Wheat:  Net sales of 84,800 metric tons (MT) for 2021/2022 were up 48 percent from the previous week, but down 75 percent from the prior 4-week averag...

Soyoil: Soybean oil price forecast is raised 1 cent to 66.0 cents per pound...

Soymeal: increased U.S. soybean crush is forecast at 2.215 billion bushels, up 25 million from last month on favorable crush margins and improving prospect...

Soybeans: USDA forecast domestic crush up 25 million bushels and soybean exports unchanged.  The result is domestic ending stocks are reduced 25 milli...

Corn:  2021/22 U.S. corn supply and use are unchanged relative to last month.  The season-average farm price remains at $5.45 per bushel. USDA re...

Wheat: USDA reduced the forecast for U.S. exports by 15 million bushels to 810 million.  Projected U.S. wheat ending stocks are raised 20 million bush...

The CBOT surged higher on Wednesday with corn and soybeans scoring new contract highs while wheat continued its technical rally – and that was all be...

China readily out-consumes the rest of the world in poultry eggs and Taiwan is reportedly having problems affordably sourcing all the eggs being sought. Gl...

First Meat, Now Beer The Biden Administration has found its bogey men when it comes to inflation, and it is Big Ag. As stated earlier by White House spokes...

Cultural China Heads Into the Year of Tiger with Lots of Questions With the country in the midst of a nearly three week long holiday, much of the current n...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.4675/bushel, up $0.145 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.85/bushel, up $0.0625 from yesterday's close. ...

Russian Grain Markets: 31 January-4 February 2022 Wheat prices on the Russian domestic market decreased (due to active demand for wheat from Kazakhstan whe...

Tuesday’s CBOT trade was all about positioning for Wednesday’s WASDE report. Corn and soybeans pulled back as funds pared bullish bets while wh...

A growing debate in ag policy is USDA’s use of the broader authorities of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) to implement and carry out ag policy...

Food commodities are rising in price and that includes coffee, but the coffee bean market is also changing. Out of 100 species of coffee, just two dominate...

Artisanal Meat The Biden Administration puts the taxpayers’ money where its heart is but it doesn’t always add up to real dollars and cents. It...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.3225/bushel, down $0.03 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.7875/bushel, up $0.1 from yesterday's close. ...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA  Egypt is very concerned that the problems between Russia and Ukraine will push up world wheat...

Dry weather this past weekend across northern Argentina and southern Brazil put ag futures markets in a bullish mood heading into the WASDE. Soybean and so...

The House Agriculture Committee has kicked off the process of crafting the 2023 farm bill.  Last week, the Subcommittee on Conservation and Forestry h...

Energy Squeeze U.S. and European officials are meeting in Washington this week to discuss Europe’s energy security given its current situation. EU Co...

Two of the largest sugar refiners in the southeast United States are seeking a merger but the U.S. Justice Department is objecting. The Department says tha...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.3525/bushel, up $0.1475 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.6875/bushel, up $0.055 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

Logistics  Due to the second consecutive year of a La Nina-created drought, navigation along the Parana River is a major problem for cargo vessels loa...

Regional News  China has ended its policy of distinguishing wheat and barley imported from Russia by region, which means all Russian wheat and barley...

Tomorrow Jerome Powell’s term as chairman of the Federal Reserve official expires. President Biden has nominated him to a second term, but the Senate...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.205/bushel, up $0.0375 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.6325/bushel, up $0.115 from yesterday's close. ...

The CBOT finished mostly higher for the day with the soyoil contract posting the only declines of the major ag products. Soybeans and soymeal both ended hi...

UnCOMPETES The partisan dysfunction in Washington continues as Democrats and Republicans in the House cannot even agree on how to approach competing with C...

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

It was a raucous week in the oilseeds market as March soybeans climbed nearly a buck higher and hit a new contract high. However, a temporary top may be fo...

There may have been two separate corrections occurring in the market today as prices generally slid lower. The first involved absorbing and recalibrating a...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.1675/bushel, down $0.0575 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.5175/bushel, down $0.0325 from yesterday's close...

Last week, we noted that the vaccine/mask regulation on trucks crossing the Canadian border (put in place in Canada on 15 January and the U.S. on 22 Januar...

Dinosaurs versus Unicorns Unlike dinosaurs, unicorns are mythical creatures, except in the world of finance. Financial unicorns are privately held startup...

Export Sales for January 21-27, 2022  Wheat:  Net sales of 57,500 metric tons (MT) for 2021/2022 were down 92 percent from the previous week and...

Trading on the CBOT was volatile once again with corn futures marking a 24-cent range while soybeans posted a 38-cent range. The market opened sharply high...

Worst Time The U.S. House Agriculture Committee has begun hearings in preparation for writing the 2023 version of the farm bill. This week’s hearings...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.225/bushel, down $0.1225 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.55/bushel, down $0.14 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, responding to protests over a mandate that truckers crossing the border be vaccinated against COVID, says that the...

Russian Grain Markets: 24-28 January 2022 The Russian domestic market grew due to weakening of the ruble. As export duties decreased, it made it possible f...

The CBOT saw another day of soybean-led strength with soybeans and soymeal scoring new contract highs amid a demand-rationing panic. Crops in South America...

Blockchain Food A few years ago, major food system originators and processors began experimenting with blockchain under a system called Food Trust. Now the...

Yesterday, Secretary Tom Vilsack testified at the House Agriculture Committee to Review the State of the Rural Economy - an annual event with only the Secr...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.3475/bushel, up $0.0875 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.69/bushel, up $0.0775 from yesterday's close. ...

China continues to politically bludgeon Australia’s agriculture, the latest involving the suspension of beef imports from several processing plants D...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA  Afghanistan’s agriculture will benefit from a $65 million donation by the Asian Develop...

The CBOT traded a volatile day to start the week, mirroring outside markets’ increased jumpiness. Apparent reductions in geopolitical tensions in the...

Not so Sweet The WTO last month sided with Australia, Brazil, and Guatemala that India’s sugar subsidies were distorting and illegal. India has appea...

USDA released its Cattle Inventory report today. The total inventory of all cattle and calves as of 1 January is 91.1 million head; that compares to 93.8 m...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.26/bushel, down $0.1 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.6125/bushel, down $0.25 from yesterday's close. ...

Regional News  Russia’s possible invasion of Ukraine remains a huge focus for the markets, though political tensions thawed last week and market...

Beijing proclaims the goal of food self-sufficiency at a 95-percent level on a grain basis but there is inadequate data upon which to judge this feat. Goro...

Regional News Argentina and the IMF On Friday, the government of Argentina and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) announced an initial agreement regardi...

The CBOT rallied on Friday with soybeans and soyoil posting fresh contract highs while corn futures came within 3¾ cents of their contract high. Eve...

USDA will release its semi-annual Cattle Inventory report on Monday estimating the herd size for all cattle and calves as of 1 January 2022. Pre-report exp...

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

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.36/bushel, up $0.1075 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.8625/bushel, up $0.0925 from yesterday's close. ...

Food Inflation  The Biden Administration has taken issue with the farm-to-retail spread, arguing it is proof that food companies are too concentrated...

The global oilseeds situation remained on track this past week with supplies tight and prices rising. March soybeans likely added over 50 cents this week,...

Soybeans and soyoil opened in the green and stayed that way all session, setting new contract highs in soyoil and November beans. Corn opened higher but qu...

As Gary Blumenthal mentioned in yesterday’s report, the Sacramento County Superior Court has delayed the implementation of Proposition 12 for 180 day...

Dairy Crisis Fix The U.S. dairy industry has spent decades myopically focused on extracting high prices for milk out of American consumers. The Federal Mil...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.2525/bushel, down $0.0175 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.77/bushel, down $0.18 from yesterday's close.&nb...

Export Sales for January 14-20, 2022.  Wheat:  Net sales of 676,700 metric tons (MT) for 2021/2022--a marketing-year high--were up 78 percent fro...

The CBOT reversed course from its recent grains-rally-soy-complex-declines playbook as a (minor) thaw in Russia-Ukraine/NATO political tensions sent wheat...

Out COMPETES The U.S. House released a bill today whose proponents say will enable America to compete with China in science and technology. The biggest com...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.27/bushel, up $0.07 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.95/bushel, down $0.23 from yesterday's close.  Ma...

Livestock Live Hog Prices Up More than 2 Percent as Holiday Approaches With the lunar holiday around the corner, most slaughterhouses closed this week, whi...

Argentina has moved into the lowest price leader position for corn, but its price has started tracking higher - lest money be left on the table. Romanian a...

Russian Grain Markets: 17-21 January 2022 The Russian domestic market fluctuated as it grew significantly in the beginning but then decreased. We see a mod...

The CBOT saw the continued influence of fund managers and investors looking to bull spread commodities against equities, as well as the impact of (continua...

One of the biggest issues in agriculture over the past half a dozen years has been the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule – and more generally,...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.2/bushel, down $0.01 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $8.18/bushel, up $0.175 from yesterday's close.  Ma...

Misleading Farm Statistics Jonathan Kanter, the Biden Administration’s Assistant Attorney General overseeing the Antitrust Division, told the New Yor...

The markets are nervous over potential impacts from geopolitics, especially the potential actions by Russia in Ukraine. The past is not necessarily prologu...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA  Turkish flour miller Ulusoy Un Sanayi has received $25 million in six year debt facility from...

December total red meat and poultry stocks were up from November but remained down 11.2 percent from December 2020. Once again, total pork and poultry stoc...

As expected, the weekend’s developments in the Black Sea drove market action to start the week. Over the weekend, U.S. and Russian diplomats ended di...

Fossil Fuel Foibles Fossil fuels and agriculture are highly integrated, including via fuel, chemical inputs, and commodity fund valuations. Thus, it is imp...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.21/bushel, up $0.0475 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $8.005/bushel, up $0.205 from yesterday's close. ...

COVID revealed the raw underbelly of the U.S. food manufacturing industry. While politicians are blaming consolidation and greed for the disrupted supply c...

Thinking back a little more than a decade ago, the Obama Administration proposed the “cap and trade” energy policy to develop more alternative...

Corn Argentina Last week’s heatwave in Argentina was as bad with temperatures above 40C (104F) and strong winds in many places. By the week’s e...

Regional News  Grain markets in Europe and the Black Sea remain dominated by one factor: the looming possibility that Russia will invade Ukraine. Dipl...

U.S. Cattle on Feed Up 1 Percent: Cattle on feed for the slaughter in the United States for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 12.0 mill...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.1625/bushel, up $0.0525 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.8/bushel, down $0.1025 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

The CBOT traded a mixed day to end a volatile and mostly bullish week. Corn and lean hog futures rallied with March corn posting a new seven-month high and...

USDA released its monthly cattle on feed report; it was on the bearish side with record placements for December that were well above pre-report expectation...

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

WTF Trade Policy USTR Katherine Tai spoke to other leaders at the World Economic Forum this week and made the following comments: Rather than seeking a re...

Export Sales USDA’s Export Sales report released this morning reflected larger export sales across many commodities, including the soy complex. Net s...

Export Sales for Jan 7, 2022 – Jan 13, 2022 Wheat:  Net sales of 380,600metric tons (MT) for 2021/2022 were up 44 percent from the previous week...

With little new in the fundamentals to move the market it is instead being pushed by inflation and geopolitics. Funds are buying on both measures going int...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.11/bushel, up $0.005 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.9025/bushel, down $0.0625 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

There is still some slack in the beef processing sector, reportedly related to the Omicron variant and labor availability. Cattle slaughter today was 116,0...

Chemical Wars Falling in line with President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador’s order to end the use of glyphosate in 2024, Mexico’s National Counci...

Livestock Squeeze of Low Prices and High Feed Costs Plagues Hog Sector The latest data release from China’s Feed Industry Association indicates that...

The CBOT traded sharply higher on Wednesday with Tuesday’s rallies in corn and wheat sparking follow-through fund and speculative buying. Moreover, t...

China Status Quo A piece in Bloomberg makes note that the White House has focused on other issues (voting rights, Build Back Better spending) but has said...

The Buenos Aires Grain Exchange announced that the average yield for Argentina’s 2021/22 wheat crop will be 3.44 MT/hectare. That is the highest yiel...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.105/bushel, up $0.11 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.965/bushel, up $0.275 from yesterday's close.  M...

Russian Grain Markets: 10-14 January 2022 The Russian domestic market prices changed insignificantly and mainly in southern regions that are more sensitive...

The CBOT came back from its three-day holiday to find soyoil crashing lower under technical selling and position liquidation. The day’s soymeal trade...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $5.995/bushel, up $0.0325 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.69/bushel, up $0.275 from yesterday's close. ...

The House Agriculture Committee will hold a hearing on Thursday to Review the State of the Rural Economy. This is an annual hearing, and the sole witness w...

Subsidizing Poor Governance Development assistance goes to some very needy nations, but it may also enable corrupt political regimes to persevere when they...

Nothing is more important to commodity markets than the larger economy. First, the U.S. economy was headed toward secular stagnation, then it was worrisome...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA  Tunisian officials say the country has sufficient stocks of soft wheat, durum, and barley to...

The CBOT/CME markets will be closed Monday, 17 January 2022 in observance of the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. WPI’s offices will be closed as well...

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

The CBOT was mostly lower in low-volume, pre-holiday trade. Monday is a holiday in the U.S. and the CBOT/CME (and WPI’s offices) will be closed. Nota...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $5.9625/bushel, up $0.0875 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.415/bushel, down $0.0525 from yesterday's close.&n...

Ethanol RINs dropped this week on news reports that EPA might consider lowering the 15 billion gallon required volume obligation (RVO) for 2022. This came...

WFH Productivity There have been plenty of studies about the impacts on productivity of work from home (WFH) during COVID. They usually show mixed results...

This year’s La Niña event has been categorized as historically a moderate one. The rains coming to parts of South America this weekend attest...

Most of the current changes are on the supply side of the ledger. This week’s USDA WASDE has come and gone but its effects linger. The agency’s...

The market opened lower for grains and oilseeds and for most contracts that was the consistent direction of the day. The bearish tone of yesterday’s...

Last week we noted the impact of Omicron on slaughter rates; as of today, cattle slaughter is up about 1 percent, hog slaughter is down about 3.5 percent,...

Inflation Whiff Kiev is not just battling a Russian-led insurrection in the Donbas but is also trying to fight food inflation, which hit 11.3 percent in 20...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $5.875/bushel, down $0.115 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.4675/bushel, down $0.11 from yesterday's close.&nb...

Export Sales for Dec 31, 2021 – Jan 6, 2022. Wheat:  Net sales of 264,400 metric tons (MT) for 2021/2022 were up noticeably from the previous we...

Today’s CBOT trade was all about the WASDE with markets trading quietly lower before the report’s noon ET release. The report, while mostly in-...

The analytics company CultureX says that people are more likely to quit their jobs due to a toxic workplace culture than due to their salary. That may be t...

What’s in a Name Proponents of geographic indicators in Europe are upset that DG-Agri may be planning to hand over more regulatory oversight of the G...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $5.99/bushel, down $0.02 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.5775/bushel, down $0.125 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

U.S. soybean oil price forecast is unchanged at 65.0 cents per pound...

U.S. soybean meal price is projected at $375 per short ton, up 45 dollars...

U.S. soybean ending stocks for 2021/22 are raised 10 million bushels to 350 million. The U.S. season-average soybean price for 2021/22 is forecast at $12.6...

U.S. corn ending stocks for 2021/22 are raised 47 million bushels to 1,540 million. The season-average corn price received by producers is unchanged at $5...

Macroeconomics Food Inflation Reverses Course, Falls in December With pork prices continuing to remain well below their averages from a year ago, food cost...

U.S. wheat ending stocks for 2021/22 are raised 30 million bushels to 628 million.  The season-average farm price is raised $0.10 per bushel to $7.15...

Russian Grain Markets: 3-7 January 2022 The first week of January was holiday season, as usual, so it was impossible to register any changes on the Russian...

The CBOT turned higher on the last day of pre-WASDE trading as continued short covering in wheat and a bullish response to CONAB’s new production dat...

Trade negotiations are a long, slow process, marked in many cases by small steps on the way to broader market access and more robust trade. A good reminder...

Fake Pork Trade USTR Katherine Tai announced that bilateral negotiations had resulted in India opening its market to imports of U.S. pork. This past year,...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $6.01/bushel, up $0.0125 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.7025/bushel, up $0.0825 from yesterday's close. ...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA  MEA region grain importers will face lower Russian export quotas in 2022 – 8 MMT of whe...

The price of palm oil has been rising since the start of 2021, reaching a local price roughly double the average of the previous dozen years. Production in...

CBTO trade on Monday was all about positioning for Wednesday’s WASDE report from USDA. Traders took out some of the weather premium that was bid into...

Beef with Oil The Biden Administration dislikes the oil industry as much or more than Big Beef. After stating the goals of ending drilling on public lands,...

Mar 22 Corn closed at $5.9975/bushel, down $0.07 from yesterday's close.  Mar 22 Wheat closed at $7.62/bushel, up $0.035 from yesterday's close. ...