World Perspectives
livestock

Livestock Round Up: Beef and Butter for the Holidays

As of today, week to date cattle slaughter is 99.7 percent of the same period last week. Last Thursday, we speculated that last week’s slaughter “could creep up on 670,000 head” – it was 668,000, making it the second highest week of the year. 

Between now and Christmas, packing plants run at as high a capacity as they can to fulfill holiday demand. With some of the front-end cattle supplies at feed yards having been worked through, the combined effect would be some bullish cattle prices. Today’s negotiated trade for steers and heifers was $130/cwt. That is providing support to futures, although there was some correction today from yesterday’s highs.  Another commodity bouncing back with holi...

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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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