World Perspectives

Food versus Populism; Food in Perspective; Beauty of the Algorithm; Tariffs as Panacea

Food versus PopulismPresident-elect Donald Trump’s selection of RFK, Jr. to oversee a food system that he wants to remake without chemicals and ultra-processing, or mega farms, or seed oils, is going to be both fun and excruciating to watch. The sheer mass of the food-sector battleship should be understood when considering such a course change. Cynics simplify food costs into corporate greed. Einstein liked making it simple but warned against simpler. There is no elegant solution for what is being suggested. The system is built to have millions of people make daily deliveries of over a trillion calories of safe food at the price points demanded, regardless of geographic location, and in various forms (shelf-stable, refrigerated, frozen...

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feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Jul 25 Corn closed at $4.175/bushel, up $0.08 from yesterday's close.  Sep 25 Wheat closed at $5.4075/bushel, up $0.04 from yesterday's close.  Nov 25 Soybeans closed at $10.2475/bushel, up $0.0825 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Soymeal closed at $271.1/short ton, up $0.2 from y...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Trade Deals, Emerging Dryness Spark CBOT Short Covering

Traders seemed content to take short risk off the table heading into the weekend with USDA’s June Acreage and Grain Stocks reports due out Monday. Funds in particular are comfortable with positions ahead of these reports and saw little reason to push markets further into oversold territor...

Trade Negotiation Update; Miscellaneous

Trade Negotiation Update There were no shortages of eye-opening news reports this week and the notable one on trade late today was President Trump’s announcement that he is ending trade negotiations with Canada. Ottawa’s decision to impose a retroactive digital services tax on Ameri...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Jul 25 Corn closed at $4.175/bushel, up $0.08 from yesterday's close.  Sep 25 Wheat closed at $5.4075/bushel, up $0.04 from yesterday's close.  Nov 25 Soybeans closed at $10.2475/bushel, up $0.0825 from yesterday's close.  Jul 25 Soymeal closed at $271.1/short ton, up $0.2 from y...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Trade Deals, Emerging Dryness Spark CBOT Short Covering

Traders seemed content to take short risk off the table heading into the weekend with USDA’s June Acreage and Grain Stocks reports due out Monday. Funds in particular are comfortable with positions ahead of these reports and saw little reason to push markets further into oversold territor...

Trade Negotiation Update; Miscellaneous

Trade Negotiation Update There were no shortages of eye-opening news reports this week and the notable one on trade late today was President Trump’s announcement that he is ending trade negotiations with Canada. Ottawa’s decision to impose a retroactive digital services tax on Ameri...

Input Costs Forecast to Rise, Led by Fertilizer

After rising sharply in 2022, input costs remain stubbornly high yet today. At the same time, the prices received for major crops like corn, soybeans and wheat have fallen by as much as 30 percent over the same period.   In response to these economic headwinds, Congress stepped up thr...

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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.

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