USDA's highly anticipated reports on 1 March U.S. quarterly grain and soybean stocks and the 1 March initial planting intentions will be released Friday morning (30 March). The 1 March stocks numbers will set the tone for the April WASDE due out on 10 April, and the initial planting intentions will be the basis for USDA's estimates of crop production that will be used in its first real U.S. supply/demand forecasts for 2012/13 in the May WASDE.Anticipation of what USDA will say about stocks and plantings has been running high for weeks. Varying opinions about the report have contributed to recent market volatility. If past history holds, what USDA has to say about acreage and stocks on 30 March will sustain that volatility in the weeks fol...
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.