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...
Key Takeaways: President Trump announced $8 billion in additional agricultural assistance through the Harvest Fuel Relief Program, as USDA projects farm fuel and oil expenses will increase 28.8 percent in 2026. The package follows $12 billion in earlier relief, while government farm payments w...
Key Takeaways: A student group from the University of Chicago is protesting to bring back onion futures trading. Trading in onion futures was banned in 1958 following a spectacular bout of market manipulation that resulted in a corner of the physical market. The ban on onion futures led t...
Beef packer margins deteriorated to $141/head last week, down $55 from the prior week as fed cattle prices strengthened while the Choice cutout remained nearly unchanged. The cutout held near $373/cwt while fed cattle prices climbed $4/cwt to $224/cwt, narrowing processor profits. Despite the d...
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.