With China importing over 44 percent of the world’s traded pork and at least 13 percent of its traded corn, knowing the size of the hog herd is critical to knowing supply and demand. The USDA/FAS attaché in China has posted a number closer to the official Chinese number, but USDA in Washington has a much smaller calculation. Rabobank’s latest number splits the difference. Rabobank says the herd is 10 to 15 percent larger than a year ago after experiencing 3 – 5 percent monthly declines since December due to a relatively smaller resurgence in Africa Swine Fever (ASF). The accuracy of estimates is not made any easier by Chinese policy pronouncements seemingly contradicted by domestic prices. Soymeal prices have softe...
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...
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.