USDA reports for the period July 2-8, 2021 Wheat: Net sales of 424,700 metric tons (MT) for 2021/2022 were up 46 percent from the previous week and 44 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily to Japan (71,800 MT), the Philippines (64,100 MT), Mexico (56,000 MT), Nigeria (47,400 MT), and the United Arab Emirates (44,000 MT). Corn: Net sales of 138,800 MT for 2020/2021 were down 20 percent from the previous week, but up 31 percent from the prior 4-week average. The destinations were primarily to China (477,600 MT), Mexico (253,700 MT), Japan (191,500 MT), Guatemala (67,600 MT), and Costa Rica (29,900 MT). Soybeans: Net sales of 21,700 MT for 2020/2021 were down 66 perc...
Beef packer margins deteriorated to -$261/head last week, down $19 from the prior week as weaker beef values (especially the Choice cutout) were offset by firmer fed cattle prices, which further compressed packer profits. The cutout slipped to $387/cwt while fed cattle prices held above $259/cw...
What You Need to Know Today: The U.S. and Iran reportedly agreed to pause hostilities to allow vessels to transit the Strait of Hormuz this week (theoretically, at least). There were some rumors of a possible Chinese blockade against Taiwan. Analysts are looking for the largest U.S. 1 June cor...
Proposition 12: The National Pork Producers Council (NPPC) has advocated for a fix to Proposition 12, the California animal welfare law, in the Senate farm bill. The House version of the farm bill included a fix, but the Senate bill, based on the discussion draft released by Chairman John Boozm...
From WPI Consulting
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.