We are still quite a way from harvesting the 2013 U.S. corn and soybean crops, but if the early private crop production estimates are anyplace close to the final numbers, we could start to see a lasting price divergence between the corn and soybean markets. By lasting, we mean through the coming marketing year. Last Friday, FC Stone showed a smaller soybean crop than the July USDA estimate and today Informa's soybean production estimate was smaller than FC Stone. We pointed out last Friday the potential significance of a less than record U.S. soybean yield. It could mean that instead of more than doubling U.S. soybean ending supplies in the next marketing year we, in fact, have another year of very tight U.S. supplies.No one, on the other...
What You Need to Know Today: Commodities were mostly lower across the board today after yesterday’s Federal Reserve meeting hinted at a potential interest rate hike later in 2026. The dollar index reached its highest level in over a year, and a strong dollar makes U.S. agricultural expor...
Tomorrow is the Juneteenth federal holiday, and the USDA, along with the rest of the federal government and the CME, will be closed, so the monthly Cattle on Feed report was released a day early. The total number of cattle on feed in feedlots with 1,000 head or more capacity on 1 June amounted...
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.