The Senate Finance Committee and its chairman Senator Mike Crapo (R-Idaho) have unveiled their tax bill as part of budget reconciliation to extend the 2017...

Jul 25 Corn closed at $4.315/bushel, down $0.0325 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Wheat closed at $5.49/bushel, up $0.125 from yesterday's close. ...

G7 Disappointments The Israeli-Iran war stole the thunder of the G7 meeting in Canada and while President Trump said ahead of the conference that he hoped...

Mediterranean/Middle East/North Africa/Africa – MEA Region Turkish officials announced that the cost of vessels passing through the Bosphorus/Dardane...

Beef packer margins are on a one-way trip to a very unpleasant place and despite a brief rebound last week, remain absolutely dismal. Packer margins improv...

Soyoil remained the star of the CBOT on Monday and locked limit-up for the second day following the surprisingly bullish EPA RVO mandates released Friday...

Jul 25 Corn closed at $4.3475/bushel, down $0.0975 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Wheat closed at $5.365/bushel, down $0.0725 from yesterday's close...

On Friday, the EPA announced a proposed rule to establish required Renewable Fuel Standard volumes obligations, known as the required volume obligations (R...

Selective Deportation The New York Times credited USDA Secretary Brooke Rolins with persuading President Trump to leave undocumented workers in agriculture...

Corn Argentina’s corn harvest continues to advance slowly, with a weekly gain of less than 3 percent bringing nationwide progress to nearly 47 percen...

Regional News  Global grain and oilseed markets are reacting to several shocks that occurred last week, most notably the EPA’s surprise bullish...

Friday’s CFTC report showed managed money traders became slightly more bullish the major ag market last week, due primarily to strong buying in the l...

USDA’s outlook for 2025/26 U.S. soybeans is lower ending stocks compared with 2024/25. U.S. soybean crush for 2025/26 is projected at 2.49 billion bu...

USDA’s outlook for 2025/26 U.S. corn is for record supplies to create higher ending stocks. The corn crop is projected at 15.8 billion bushels, up 6...

USDA’s outlook for 2025/26 U.S. wheat is for yields to average 51.6 bushels per acre, which is up 0.4 bushels from last year. Hard Red Winter and Whi...

Jul 25 Corn closed at $4.445/bushel, up $0.06 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Wheat closed at $5.4375/bushel, up $0.1725 from yesterday's close. ...

Soybeans and soyoil were already spiking due to Israel’s attack on Iran and the bolt higher in the petroleum market and then the Trump Administration...

After ICE raids of businesses – with more to come according to Tom Homan – President Trump admitted that his strict immigration policies are ne...

The biggest question in the cattle and beef markets lately has been “when does the rally stop?” after beef values and fed and feeder cattle pri...

WPI offers the following PDF of key supply and demand tables and charts relating to the USDA’s latest WASDE report. This is not an all-inclusive comp...

WPI offers the following PDF of key supply and demand tables and charts relating to the USDA’s latest WASDE report. This is not an all-inclusive comp...

WPI offers the following PDF of key supply and demand tables and charts relating to the USDA’s latest WASDE report. This is not an all-inclusive comp...

Dry Bulk Ocean Freight  Dry bulk freight markets saw strength emerge this week with the Capesize sector rallying in early trade, but giving up some of...

Export Sales and Shipments for May 30-June 5, 2025 Wheat: Net sales of 388,900 metric tons (MT) for the 2025/2026 marketing year, which began June 1. Expor...

There were no shocks in today’s June USDA WASDE report, just tweaks that were generally within expectations. Corn, soybeans, soymeal, wheat, and catt...

Jul 25 Corn closed at $4.385/bushel, up $0.015 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Wheat closed at $5.265/bushel, down $0.0775 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

USDA released its June WASDE report today. The total U.S. red meat and poultry production forecast for 2025 is lowered from last month. Beef production is...

Jul 25 Corn closed at $4.37/bushel, down $0.0175 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Wheat closed at $5.3425/bushel, down $0.0025 from yesterday's close.&...

Corn, wheat, and soybeans all traded higher overnight on growing optimism over the U.S.-China trade negotiations, though markets could not hold those gains...

Outclassed In a nearly five-hour hearing before the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, USDA Secretary Brooke Rollins proved again that she is one of the mos...

Russian Grain Markets: 2 – 6 June 2025 The grain market continued the transition from old crop to new crop meaning that the bearish trend is now acro...

The overnight CBOT trade showed corn pushing lower while the soy complex traded modestly higher on hopes for positive outcomes from the U.S.-China trade me...

Calm Amidst Upheaval Data or surveys about attitudes or opinions are said to be “soft” data since they are emotive based and less reliable. Sof...

While the MAHA report from Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. still cites consolidation in the meat packing sector, Brazil’s...

Jul 25 Corn closed at $4.3875/bushel, up $0.0525 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Wheat closed at $5.345/bushel, down $0.075 from yesterday's close.&nb...

Mediterranean/Middle East/North Africa/Africa – MEA Region Grain markets in the MENA region are quiet due to the Musim Eid holidays that extends thro...

New all-time highs in fed cattle prices caused beef packer margins to collapse again last week. Beef packer margins fell $97/head to -$299 – a new al...

Except for the livestock futures, which all hit new contract or record highs, the CBOT was mostly lower to start the week with favorable weather and bearis...

Trade Negotiations Ramp Up The big story involves U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators meeting in London this week. Discussions lasted three hours today and...

Jul 25 Corn closed at $4.335/bushel, down $0.09 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Wheat closed at $5.42/bushel, down $0.1275 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

USDA’s delay of its quarterly agricultural trade report, and exclusion of its typical explanatory text, raised concerns because the moves raised ques...

Corn  Argentina’s corn harvest advanced 3.3 percentage points over the past week and reached 43.8 percent of the estimated area nationwide. Prog...

Regional News  Russia’s recent strikes against Ukraine and poor progress in peace talks between the two countries in Istanbul have added “...

Friday’s CFTC report showed managed money traders became slightly more bearish the major ag markets, last week with steady net selling across the gra...

If yesterday’s trading looked like uncertainty ultimately succumbing to the bulls, today’s trading opened with the bears fully in charge. Contr...

Jul 25 Corn closed at $4.425/bushel, up $0.03 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Wheat closed at $5.5475/bushel, up $0.0925 from yesterday's close. ...

The BLS released the employment report this morning indicating that the U.S. added 139,000 jobs in May, down slightly from April’s revised 147,000, b...

Anyone following the hog and pork markets recently has seen the volatility that preceded the recent surge to new contract highs, and the lack of consensus...

Dry-Bulk Markets  In paper dry-bulk markets, the Capesize sector increased slightly this week on stronger demand from miners, but the move was insuffi...

It was a very active open this morning with lots of lead changes as corn and soybean traders wrestled over whether bears or bulls were in control. Even win...

Export Sales and Shipments for May 23-29, 2025  Wheat: Net sales reductions of 49,100 metric tons (MT) for 2024/2025. Export shipments of 540,100 MT w...

Jul 25 Corn closed at $4.395/bushel, up $0.0075 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Wheat closed at $5.455/bushel, up $0.0225 from yesterday's close. ...

The Market  U.S. soybean prices have mostly been treading water these past few weeks with neither bulls nor bears able to get the upper hand for more...

The cattle herd is at historic lows and herd rebuilding has continued to be put off. Profitability is the key factor, and near record cattle prices have in...

Grain, oilseed, and livestock futures were all higher at the CBOT on Wednesday with various combinations of end-user buying, short covering, and improved t...

Agriculture Front and Center It is notable that all the examples provided by White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt of high foreign tariffs involved...

Jul 25 Corn closed at $4.3875/bushel, up $0.0025 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Wheat closed at $5.4325/bushel, up $0.0725 from yesterday's close.&nb...

Russian Grain Markets: 26 – 30 May 2025 The grain market was more similar to an end of June market rather than end of May. A new season seems to have...

The CBOT saw a role reversal on Tuesday with the previously bearish-led corn and soybean markets finding technical and some fundamental support, while whea...

Getting Tough  It isn’t just the U.S. judicial system offering up hurdles to President Trump’s trade war. It has been noted that different...

Jul 25 Corn closed at $4.385/bushel, up $0.0025 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Wheat closed at $5.36/bushel, down $0.03 from yesterday's close. ...

Feeder steer prices remain at historic highs across all major regions, averaging 22.9 percent higher year-over- year, and 58 percent higher than the five-y...

Mediterranean/Middle East/North Africa/Africa – MEA Region Pakistan has said that it could buy additional U.S. soybeans in order to eliminate the sma...

Strong meat demand for the first weekend of the unofficial summer grilling season helped both beef and pork packer margins improve last week. Beef packer m...

The major development at the CBOT on Monday was that bears finally gained full control of the corn and soybean markets with multiple bearish headlines allo...

Jul 25 Corn closed at $4.3825/bushel, down $0.0575 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Wheat closed at $5.39/bushel, up $0.05 from yesterday's close. ...

TACO or Not Financial markets have again steadied following the renewed war of words between Beijing and Washington. The two competitors cannot agree on mu...

In May, the U.S. and China agreed to reduce import tariffs by a combined 115 percentage points, down to 10 percent. The agreement was intended to cool year...

Corn  Argentina  Argentina’s corn harvest continues to progress slowly, with only 40 percent of the total area harvested so far. The delay...

Regional News  The UK, most of northern/central Europe, parts of eastern Europe and the eastern Black Sea all received beneficial rainfall last week,...

Friday’s CFTC report showed managed money traders became slightly more bullish the major ag markets, or at least less bearish. Funds cut their net sh...

Export Sales and Shipments for May 16-22, 2025. Wheat: Net sales reductions of 128,800 metric tons (MT) for 2024/2025 were up noticeably from the previous...

Jul 25 Corn closed at $4.44/bushel, down $0.03 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Wheat closed at $5.34/bushel, up $0 from yesterday's close.  Jul 2...

Wheat and pigs were the day’s winners, with much of the rest of the contracts bleeding red. President Trump’s war of words with China added som...

On 2 April, President Trump announced the U.S. will impose a minimum baseline of 10 percent tariffs on all imported goods into the U.S. as well as higher r...

Drew Lerner at World Weather, Inc. makes an interesting analogy between U.S. weather this spring, and that of 1968. Both this year and 1968 involved recove...

Jul 25 Corn closed at $4.47/bushel, down $0.04 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Wheat closed at $5.34/bushel, up $0.0375 from yesterday's close. ...

Markets have been trending lower this week and while soybeans and SRW teased lower numbers this morning, both ultimately turned around and left corn and so...

USDA updated its forecast for broiler production in 2025 and released its initial estimate for 2026. The 2025 estimate was revised lower by 260 million pou...

CBOT markets were mostly mixed in quiet trade overnight, but that tenor changed quickly once the day session started. The Crop Progress report initially ap...

Trade Negotiation Hurdles U.S. and EU trade negotiators meet again tomorrow in a bid to reach an agreement by 9 July; there is a lot of skepticism about it...

Jul 25 Corn closed at $4.51/bushel, down $0.085 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Wheat closed at $5.3025/bushel, up $0.0175 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

Russian Grain Markets: 19 –23 May 2025 Grain markets finally realized that the new crop is near and bearish adjustments between the old crop and new...

Beneficial rains across the U.S. Southern Plains and part of the Black Sea over the weekend put wheat futures in Europe and the U.S. on the defensive to st...

The seminal report on the state of America’s health, the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) report, focuses on the environmental exposure to pesticide...

Jul 25 Corn closed at $4.595/bushel, up $0 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Wheat closed at $5.285/bushel, down $0.14 from yesterday's close.  Jul...

U.S.-EU Delay Reckoning Brussels responded quickly to President Trump’s threat to raise tariffs to 50 percent. But a renewed commitment to negotiate...

Mediterranean/Middle East/North Africa/Africa – MEA Region Syria’s wheat crop is expected to be down by 75 percent this year due to severe drou...

Friday’s CFTC report showed that managed money traders are becoming increasingly bearish corn and the soy complex while gradually easing short bets i...

U.S. Cattle on Feed was down 2 percent from a year ago on May 1, 2025. Cattle in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head and totaled 11.4 million.&nbs...

Pre-Holiday Trade There was higher volume trading soybeans today, but generally lower pre-holiday volume in other contracts. Despite an overall strong week...

Monday, 26 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, 27 May...

USDA released the monthly Cattle on Feed report today. The total inventory of feedlots of 1,000 head or more capacity is 11.4 million head, 98 percent of l...

Jul 25 Corn closed at $4.595/bushel, down $0.035 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Wheat closed at $5.425/bushel, down $0.02 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

Southern Plains cow-calf producers’ financial outlook continues to improve with the recent gains in feeder cattle prices and overall weakness in feed...

Dry-Bulk Ocean Freight Dry bulk markets remain essentially flat with cargo demand remaining “elusive”. Increased demand from China remains the...

Corn, soybeans, soymeal, and cattle closed higher, while wheat, soyoil, and hogs dipped. The reasons are varied but pre-holiday trading tomorrow could see...

Export Sales and Shipments for May 9-15, 2025  Wheat: Net sales reductions of 13,400 metric tons (MT) for 2024/2025 were down noticeably from the prev...

Jul 25 Corn closed at $4.63/bushel, up $0.02 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Wheat closed at $5.445/bushel, down $0.0475 from yesterday's close. ...

USDA’s monthly Cattle on Feed report will be released tomorrow. Analysts’ pre-report consensus estimates are for the total inventory on feed to...

The CBOT was higher again on Wednesday with cool, wet weather for the U.S. Midwest causing planting delay concerns while hot, dry weather in the Black Sea...

EU Non-Proposal The EU has drafted a trade proposal for the Trump Administration that appears to be more fluff than meaningful stuff. Brussels offers to fo...

Jul 25 Corn closed at $4.61/bushel, up $0.065 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Wheat closed at $5.4925/bushel, up $0.0325 from yesterday's close. ...

Russian Grain Markets: 12 –16 May 2025 Crop Outlook 2025 The grain market was relatively stable, however, the gap between the new crop and old crop p...

Jul 25 Corn closed at $4.545/bushel, up $0.07 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Wheat closed at $5.46/bushel, up $0.17 from yesterday's close.  Jul...

The CBOT turned higher on Tuesday with wheat leading the way. Wheat turned higher overnight and started the broader CBOT rally as traders are increasingly...

Crunch Time The “Big Beautiful Bill” providing the tax cut extensions sought by President Trump is supposed to be passed by the U.S. House by M...

In Q1, U.S. pork exports to Mexico grew by 11 percent year-over-year according to the U.S. Meat Export Federation (USMEF). That’s despite U.S. export...