The market adage that “big crops grow bigger” means that forecasts typically start out conservative, and a season that starts well typically ends well. The current betting is the opposite: small crops get smaller. The bears will recall that planting progress was unspectacular last year, and yet production surprised to the upside, mostly due to perfect weather. In 2009, the corn crop’s planting pace was 10 percent slower than the year before, but it produced yields that were 7 percent larger. A record 97 percent had been planted by week 20 in 2012 (see graph below), but drought caused the average yield to be substantially lower. All that said and ignoring total planted acres, the size of the corn crop correlates in most ye...
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
Weighing in on strategic realignment
WPI’s team was retained by the governing board of a U.S. industry organization to review a decision, reached by vote, to invest significant assets into the development and management of an export trading company. WPI’s team conducted a formal review of this decision and concluded that the current level of market saturation would limit the benefits of the investment. Based on WPI’s analysis and recommended actions, the board subsequently reversed its decision and undertook a strategic planning effort to identify more impactful investments. On behalf of numerous clients, WPI has not only assisted in identifying strategic paths but also advised their implementation.