The CBOT and CME markets were sharply lower to start post-Labor Day trading with the ongoing export closure at the U.S. Gulf weighing on grain markets. The Gulf closure is pushing basis levels sharply lower across the country and futures markets are having to adjust accordingly. A combination of long liquidation on good weather and the approaching harvest also kept grain markets on the defensive. In livestock markets, cattle futures imploded as technical weakness and fund liquidation are accelerating following a recent, sustained bull market. Funds were net sellers today, liquidating some 25,000 contracts of corn and 15,000 contracts of soybeans and 6,000 contracts of wheat. Funds were more measured sellers in soyoil and soymeal, liq...
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.