Yesterday soybean contracts experienced a momentary setback because of China's cancellation of U.S. soybeans and a weak export inspection number. Traders who shorted the soy complex may now question if their selling was premature. However, their selling was probably just fine because the dominant story driving prices higher (tight Argentine soymeal stocks) is flawed. There is some truth to this, but that is only because Argentina's soybean harvest and resulting crush peak primarily in April-May. There does not seem to be much weight to the notion that soybean and soymeal contracts are presently rallying because the amount of soymeal produced from unharvested Argentine soybeans is in short supply. Rather, today’s higher price action ap...
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.