In contrast to the combination of red and green hues traditional at Christmas time, the CBOT featured mostly red today. Corn, the entire soy complex, and Chicago wheat were all lower while KC HRW wheat managed to trade a few fractions of a penny higher. The EPA issued a notice of proposed rulemaking where distiller sorghum oil would count as an advanced biofuel feedstock. The move, if adopted, could open a new market for a co-product of ethanol production that uses sorghum as feedstock. Crude oil futures are steady as of this writing with WTI crude up 3 points at $59.69 and Brent up 1 point at $66.45. U.S. stock indexes are marginally higher in low-volume trade with the S&P and Dow Jones up less than one quarter of one per...
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.