Cattle on Feed Tomorrow USDA will release its monthly Cattle on Feed report. The industry’s pre-report estimates peg the total number on feed as of 1 April to be 107.6 percent of last year with March placements and marketings at 91 percent and 96 percent ,respectively, of the totals for the same month a year ago. Given the pace of placements in previous months, cattle on feed numbers are expected to remain large. Since a significant catalyst to the aggressive level of placements earlier this year was drought conditions, it stands to reason there were fewer cattle left to pull off winter wheat pastures in March. The large drop in placements versus last year, however, is also a reflection of record-high March placements in 2017,...
What You Need to Know Today: After a period of limited activity, USDA reported a sizeable 613 KMT in soybean export sales, including 330 KMT to China and 283 KMT to unknown destinations, potentially also China. The purchases represent a meaningful pickup in demand and bring China closer to ful...
Key Takeaways: Consumer spending is a key driver of the U.S. economy, and the latest retail sales data indicate that spending remains robust despite inflation. In September, total retail and food service sales rose more than 6 percent year-over-year, with food service spending up 7 percent and...
The Trump import plan for 300,000 MT of beef supplies used for ground beef, i.e., lean trim, from September through November has, according to Secretary Brooke Rollins, brought some relief to beef prices. The Executive Order states that the Secretary of Agriculture will analyze and review the m...
From WPI Consulting
Forecasting developments in production agriculture
On behalf of a private U.S. agricultural technology provider, WPI’s team generated an econometric model to forecast the movement of concentrated corn production north and west from the traditional U.S. Corn Belt. WPI’s model has subsequently provided quantitative support to a multi-million-dollar investment into short-season corn variety development. WPI’s methodology included a series of interviews with regional grain elevators and seed consultants. Emphasizing outreach and communication with stakeholders who possess intimate sectoral knowledge – on-the-ground insights – is a regular component of WPI’s methodologies, made possible by WPI’s ever-growing network of industry contacts.