World Perspectives
livestock

Livestock Roundup: High Prices and China Persist

What a difference a year makes! No one will forget how out of balance cattle markets were in 2022 with margins steeply favoring the packer, while feedlots saw their margins shrink away into negative territory.  In fact, it was such a factor that we suffered through a year of misguided attempts to “fix” the market with all kinds of adjustments to cattle pricing.   However, in the past year, feedlot margins are up more than 1,300 percent, according to Sterling Beef Profit Tracker, going from $29.33/head in 2024 to $419.93/head last week. Last week’s highs were up from already high margins of $366.40/head the previous week and $278.73/head in mid-February. Packer margins, meanwhile, remained in the red with a -...

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feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: CBOT Gains After USDA Reports; Soyoil Leads Soy Complex Higher

The CBOT was mostly higher following the all-important Prospective Plantings and Grain Stocks reports with traders looking to price in emerging factors now that USDA’s thoughts on the acreage situation are known. For corn, the emerging factors are dryness in Brazil that could start to thr...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

May 25 Corn closed at $4.6175/bushel, up $0.045 from yesterday's close.  May 25 Wheat closed at $5.405/bushel, up $0.035 from yesterday's close.  May 25 Soybeans closed at $10.3425/bushel, up $0.195 from yesterday's close.  May 25 Soymeal closed at $292.3/short ton, down $0.4 fro...

Uncertainty Ends

Trump’s tariff threats are said to be causing uncertainty, though its intent is transparent. One thing tomorrow’s release of the tariff plan will not end is the duplicity of its opponents. Let’s look at some of the sturm und drang and its meaning. East Asia: A joint statement...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: CBOT Gains After USDA Reports; Soyoil Leads Soy Complex Higher

The CBOT was mostly higher following the all-important Prospective Plantings and Grain Stocks reports with traders looking to price in emerging factors now that USDA’s thoughts on the acreage situation are known. For corn, the emerging factors are dryness in Brazil that could start to thr...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

May 25 Corn closed at $4.6175/bushel, up $0.045 from yesterday's close.  May 25 Wheat closed at $5.405/bushel, up $0.035 from yesterday's close.  May 25 Soybeans closed at $10.3425/bushel, up $0.195 from yesterday's close.  May 25 Soymeal closed at $292.3/short ton, down $0.4 fro...

Uncertainty Ends

Trump’s tariff threats are said to be causing uncertainty, though its intent is transparent. One thing tomorrow’s release of the tariff plan will not end is the duplicity of its opponents. Let’s look at some of the sturm und drang and its meaning. East Asia: A joint statement...

Quick Hits: Agency Employment, Grains Reports, and Biofuels

USDA Retirement: USDA employees have until 8 Apil to decide whether to participate in the administration's so-called deferred resignation program. USDA employees were sent an email last night titled “Deferred Resignation Program 2.0,” which says they must make a decision by the dead...

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From WPI Consulting

Illuminating the value of technical research

On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.

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