Falling feeder cattle prices, good pasture conditions, and tightening feedlot margins are working to reduce the number of feeder cattle entering feedlots. Feeder cattle receipts in June totaled 898,000 head, just 84 percent of June 2018 receipts and near the lowest in seven years. The CME Feeder Cattle Index is down 9 percent YTD and is 7 percent lower than this time last year. The lower prices are encouraging owners of feeder cattle outside of feedlots to retain ownership, rather than sell to feedlots. Additionally, feedlots’ recent trend of placing heavier cattle on feed is encouraging cow-calf and stocker operations to keep animals on pasture. While mother nature has punished farmers this year, cow-calf and stocker operations have...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
From WPI Consulting
Infrastructure investment due diligence
On behalf of a Canadian oilseed processer WPI's team provided market analysis, econometric modeling and financial due diligence in support of a $24 million-dollar investment in a Ukrainian crush plant. Consistent with WPI's findings, local production to supply the plant and the facility's output have expanded exponentially since the investment. WPI has conducted parallel work on behalf of U.S., South American and European clients, both private and public, in the agri-food space.