WPI has officially launched Transportation Perspectives as a standalone weekly report separate from our Ag Perspectives articles and analysis. Current Ag P...
Articles
Summary of Futures
May 26 Corn closed at $4.5225/bushel, down $0.02 from yesterday's close. May 26 Wheat closed at $5.9825/bushel, up $0.0075 from yesterday's close.&nb...
Summary of Futures
May 26 Corn closed at $4.5425/bushel, down $0.035 from yesterday's close. May 26 Wheat closed at $5.975/bushel, down $0.1875 from yesterday's close.&...
Market Commentary: Plenty of Information — No Clear Direction
Key Market Developments Macro: Tension Without Direction Markets are trading the tension between escalation and resolution — and neither side has co...
AI Disaster; Fringe Opinions; NTE 40th Update
AI Disaster Opponents of artificial intelligence, like Senator Bernie Sanders (S-Vermont), warn that the technology risks the end of the human race. So-cal...
Black Sea Regional Analysis
Russian Grain Markets: 23–27 March 2026 The Russian grains market was stable to slightly firmer during the week. Export activity and port trading rem...
Summary of Futures
May 26 Corn closed at $4.5775/bushel, up $0.02 from yesterday's close. May 26 Wheat closed at $6.1625/bushel, up $0.0925 from yesterday's close. ...
Market Commentary: Grains Rally on USDA Data, Hopes for End to Middle East Conflict
Except for lean hog futures, the CBOT and CME markets were higher on Tuesday in a combination of bullish factors. The day’s strength started after th...
Lots To Do for Congress When They Return to Washington
Congress is in recess this week ahead of the Easter and Passover holidays, with much yet to do, including ending a partial shutdown and considering the &ld...
China Market Analysis
SPS Barriers India’s rice exports to China have been accelerating, but Beijing recently rejected three shipments of non-Basmati rice, citing genetica...
Middle East, Mediterranean, and Africa Regional Analysis
Mediterranean/Middle East/North Africa/Africa – MEA Region Iraq’s 2026 wheat imports are seen increasing by about 8.3 percent to 2.4 million MT...
March Grain Stocks Summary
The attached PDF offers graphical depiction and analysis of the latest USDA Grain Stocks data for key commodities. The data is, of course, taken from the q...
Livestock Industry Margins
Beef packer margins eased slightly to $119/head, declining $7/head week over week as a modest softening in the cutout combined with a small increase in liv...
Summary of Futures
May 26 Corn closed at $4.5575/bushel, down $0.0625 from yesterday's close. May 26 Wheat closed at $6.07/bushel, up $0.02 from yesterday's close...
Market Commentary: CBOT Cautious Ahead of Acreage, Stocks Reports
The CBOT took a bit of a breather on Monday as traders waited for the upcoming Prospective Plantings and Grain Stocks reports, which the USDA will issue Tu...
Forlorn or Failure; Fertile or Futile; AI Impacts; Dirty Dozen Disinformation
Forlorn or Failure The spin from the WTO on the organization’s recent MC14 meetings was that a lot of decisions were adopted, progress was made, and...
Prospective Planting and Quarterly Stocks Reports Preview
The 2026 USDA Prospective Plantings Report is scheduled for release tomorrow. The report surveys farmer planting intentions for major crops, including corn...
Mercosur Regional Analysis
Argentina Corn Argentina’s corn harvest continues to advance at the national level. After a weekly gain of 2.2 percentage points, harvest has reached...
CFTC COT Report Analysis
Friday’s CFTC report showed funds expanding long positions across the major ag futures contracts for the tenth straight week. Funds added 67,000 cont...
Market Commentary: Expected Biofuel Announcement Cannot Dislodge War Worries
Thursday marked the worst day for stocks in weeks despite word on the street to “buy,” since valuations have once again become attractive. But...
Downside Risk for Wheat into 2026/27
The current rally in wheat futures is widely known to be driven by fund buying in response to the conflict in the Middle East. Part of the price gains has...
Summary of Futures
May 26 Corn closed at $4.62/bushel, down $0.05 from yesterday's close. May 26 Wheat closed at $6.05/bushel, up $0 from yesterday's close. May 2...
Grassley and Smith Introduce Meat Industry Consolidation Bill
Previously, on 24 March, WPI wrote about fertilizer consolidation and an effort by Majority Leader John Thune to introduce mandatory price reporting for fe...
Transportation Perspectives - 27 March
President Trump’s announcement on Monday this week that the U.S. would postpone any attacks on Iranian energy facilities for five days increased hope...
Export Sales
Export Sales and Shipments for March 13-19, 2026. Wheat: Net sales of 397,200 metric tons (MT) for 2025/2026 were up noticeably from the previous wee...
Summary of Futures
May 26 Corn closed at $4.67/bushel, down $0.0025 from yesterday's close. May 26 Wheat closed at $6.05/bushel, up $0.0725 from yesterday's close. ...
Market Commentary: War Worries Continue to Drive the Narrative
War-related higher energies are a mixed story for ags. They could stymie economic growth and thus demand, but they open the door for better biofuel sales...
Why Beef and Pork Prices May Fall Despite Strong Demand
Beef prices dropped sharply this week, with the Choice cutout down about $11/cwt in the past six trading days. The move unnerved live cattle futures on Wed...
Livestock Roundup: Quarterly Hogs and Pigs Report
USDA released its quarterly hogs and pigs report today. The inventory of all hogs and pigs on 1 March was 74.3 million head, up slightly from March 2025 bu...
Transportation Perspectives - 26 March
President Trump’s announcement on Monday this week that the U.S. would postpone any attacks on Iranian energy facilities for five days increased hope...
Summary of Futures
May 26 Corn closed at $4.6725/bushel, up $0.0475 from yesterday's close. May 26 Wheat closed at $5.9775/bushel, up $0.0775 from yesterday's close.&nb...
Market Commentary: Demand Builds, Markets Await Confirmation
Key Market Developments Macro: Playing or Trading “Truth or Dare” We’ve entered the “truth or dare” phase of this market &md...
Early 2026 Projections of Cow-Calf Finances
Cow-calf margins hit all-time record highs in 2025 as the industry benefited from the downstream impacts of record-breaking beef demand and the smallest be...
Iran War Impacts; Trade Agreements
Iran War Impacts Confidence in the economy is often tied to partisan politics, with Democrats seeing green when they control the White House, and Republica...
Black Sea Regional Analysis
Russian Grain Markets: 16–20 March 2026 During the second week of February, the Russian grains market showed a sharp divergence between domestic and...
Summary of Futures
May 26 Corn closed at $4.625/bushel, up $0.03 from yesterday's close. May 26 Wheat closed at $5.9/bushel, up $0.0225 from yesterday's close. Ma...
Market Commentary: Diminishing Energy Impacts on CBOT Trade
Tuesday’s energy markets took back about half of Monday’s losses as tensions in the Arab Gulf flared again, despite recent announcements of dip...
China Market Analysis
Balanced Trade Bilateral trade in both directions between the U.S. and China has slowed, but Chinese Premier Li Qiang told last week’s meeting of the...
Thune Introduces Fertilizer Price Reporting Bill
The war in Iran has brought the four-year simmering focus on fertilizer prices to a quick boil. Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-South Dakota) in...
Middle East, Mediterranean, and Africa Regional Analysis
Mediterranean/Middle East/North Africa/Africa – MEA Region Egypt has seen a sharp rise in wheat prices due to increased shipping costs and the 9 perc...
Livestock Industry Margins
Beef packer margins improved further, with estimated net returns increasing to $126/head from $48/head the prior week. The gains were driven by another fir...
Summary of Futures
May 26 Corn closed at $4.595/bushel, down $0.06 from yesterday's close. May 26 Wheat closed at $5.8775/bushel, down $0.075 from yesterday's close.&nb...
Market Commentary: Oil and Iran Conflict Still in Drivers’ Seat, but This Time Creating Pressure
Volatility has been no stranger to the CBOT these past three weeks, and the one consistency during this time has been the dramatic coupling of ag markets&r...
WTO Realism; Reindustrialization; Canadian Ego
WTO Realism The WTO’s 14th Ministerial Conference begins later this week, and while some have high hopes, pragmatists understand the elongated nature...
War in Iran Taking Toll on Meat Exports Globally and U.S. Agriculture
The war in Iran is taking a toll on meat exports as well as fuel and fertilizer. As noted in a letter to the Administration, “Maritime freight disrup...
Mercosur Regional Analysis
CORN Argentina’s corn harvest continues to move forward and has now reached 13 percent of planted area, with fieldwork still concentrated in the Nort...
U.S. Cattle on Feed - March 2026
U.S. Cattle on Feed in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.549 million head on March 1, 2026 – similar to the year-ago tota...
CFTC COT Report Analysis
Friday’s CFTC report showed funds further expanding long positions across the major ag futures contracts for the ninth straight week. Funds added 32,...
Summary of Futures
May 26 Corn closed at $4.655/bushel, down $0.0425 from yesterday's close. May 26 Wheat closed at $5.9525/bushel, down $0.1275 from yesterday's close...
Market Commentary: Pragmatic Escape Ahead of Weekend
On Monday of this week, traders were met with limit-down losses in soybeans, plus double-digit losses in corn, soymeal, and wheat. For many, it didn’...
Cattle on Feed Report: Neutral
USDA’s monthly cattle on feed report was released today. The total number of cattle on feed in feedlots with 1,000 head or more capacity amounted to...
Soy Product Pricing and Crush Margins Amid Energy Uncertainty
Volatility has been the key word for commodity markets lately, especially the energy complex and anything loosely tied to it. The effective derivatives of...
Transportation Perspectives - 20 March
As you probably guessed, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to drive market sentiment for energy markets and tanker vessel rates. While ther...
Summary of Futures
May 26 Corn closed at $4.6975/bushel, up $0.065 from yesterday's close. May 26 Wheat closed at $6.08/bushel, up $0.0375 from yesterday's close. ...
Export Sales
Export Sales and Shipments for March 6-12, 2026. Wheat: Net sales of 189,900 metric tons (MT) for 2025/2026 were down 58 percent from the previous week and...
Market Commentary: Energy Pulls Futures Higher, For Now
Tomorrow is Nowruz (spring equinox), the Persian New Year, but there will likely be no break from the war. There continued to be upward price pressure on g...
45Z: The Next Big Thing or the Next Big Mess?
The U.S. Treasury Department is (still!) working on the Section 45Z Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit. The broad legislative effort for the act was la...
Livestock Roundup: Cattle on Feed Preview
USDA’s monthly cattle on feed report for March will be released tomorrow. Analysts’ pre-report consensus estimates are for the total inventory...
Transportation Perspectives - 19 March
As you probably guessed, the ongoing conflict in the Middle East continues to drive market sentiment for energy markets and tanker vessel rates. While ther...
Summary of Futures
Please see the attached summary sheet - page one: ...
Market Commentary: Macro Pressure and Energy Strength Lift Grain Markets
Key Market Developments Macro: Reinforcing a Higher-for-Longer Environment Today’s inflation data reinforced what markets were already beginning to p...
Great Timing; Farm Skeptics; War’s Impact; Thursday’s Tumults
Great Timing The workers’ union at the JBS meatpacking plant in Greeley, Colorado, is on strike. The union is demanding more pay for its members, of...
Black Sea Regional Analysis
Russian Grain Markets: 9–13 March 2026 Russia’s grain market turned firmer in the second week of March, led by stronger price action in Asian R...
Summary of Futures
May 26 Corn closed at $4.54/bushel, up $0 from yesterday's close. May 26 Wheat closed at $5.8975/bushel, down $0.075 from yesterday's close. Ma...
Market Commentary: Energies, Acreage Worries Support Soybeans; Wheat Drifts Lower
CBOT ag futures were highly mixed on Tuesday as traders recovered from Monday’s drubbing and limit-down move in soybeans and soyoil. At Monday’...
China Market Analysis
Bilateral Postponement The upcoming meeting between President Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping is being delayed about “a month or so” at the...
Greeley JBS Beef Plant on Strike
The JBS beef plant in Greeley, Colorado, went on strike yesterday. Today is day two of the labor shutdown. The Greeley plant can process about 6,000 head p...
Middle East, Mediterranean, and Africa Regional Analysis
Mediterranean/Middle East/North Africa/Africa – MEA Region The Muslim month of Ramadan is expected to end around 19 March with the beginning of the E...
Livestock Industry Margins
Beef packer margins turned positive for the first time since late last year as returns improved to $53/head last week. The turnaround was driven by a stron...
Summary of Futures
May 26 Corn closed at $4.54/bushel, down $0.1325 from yesterday's close. May 26 Wheat closed at $5.9725/bushel, down $0.165 from yesterday's close.&n...
Market Commentary: Ags Sink on Oil Optimism, China Trade Worries; Fund Length Now a Liability
As quickly as it began, the U.S.-Iran war-fueled rally in commodity markets looks to be ending. Over the weekend and through Monday, several reports came i...
China Ag Purchases; Tariffs and More
China Ag Purchases The market reacted today to suggestions that President Trump will delay his planned trip to China at the end of the month due to the war...