World Perspectives
livestock

Livestock Roundup: Policy Proposals Lagging the Cattle Cycle

Since COVID and the bottlenecks it created in livestock slaughter, populism has been the hallmark of agriculture policy debates on Capitol Hill, especially livestock, and even more so the cattle market. With the beginning of the 2023 farm bill process, that hasn’t slowed, even though the cattle cycle and the economics of the livestock and meat sectors have shifted dramatically.  There have been four straight years of cattle herd liquidation, and with drought the highest cow slaughter ever, the highest heifer slaughter in two decades, and a bow wave of record beef production (2022 was the fourth consecutive record). And that demand resulted in high cattle prices. Cattle prices will remain high based on tight supplies. The culling...

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livestock

Cattle on Feed - Feb 1, 2026

U.S. Cattle on Feed in feedlots totaled 11.5 million head on February 1, 2026 - 2 percent below Feb 1, 2025.  Placements in feedlots during January totaled 1.74 million head, 5 percent below 2025.  Marketings during January totaled 1.63 million head, 13 percent below 2025.   ...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Export Sales

Export Sales and Shipments for February 6-12, 2026.  Wheat: Net sales of 288,000 metric tons (MT) for 2025/2026 were down 41 percent from the previous week and 44 percent from the prior 4-week average. Export shipments of 322,600 MT were down 44 percent from the previous week and 26 percen...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Outside Market Noise, but Fundamentals Prevail

Overall economic data released earlier on Friday presented a mixed picture, and that was followed by a long-expected court ruling on Trump tariffs. This week had lots of geopolitical uncertainties, from a U.S. military buildup in the Middle East to peace talks between Russia and Ukraine going s...

livestock

Cattle on Feed - Feb 1, 2026

U.S. Cattle on Feed in feedlots totaled 11.5 million head on February 1, 2026 - 2 percent below Feb 1, 2025.  Placements in feedlots during January totaled 1.74 million head, 5 percent below 2025.  Marketings during January totaled 1.63 million head, 13 percent below 2025.   ...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Export Sales

Export Sales and Shipments for February 6-12, 2026.  Wheat: Net sales of 288,000 metric tons (MT) for 2025/2026 were down 41 percent from the previous week and 44 percent from the prior 4-week average. Export shipments of 322,600 MT were down 44 percent from the previous week and 26 percen...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Outside Market Noise, but Fundamentals Prevail

Overall economic data released earlier on Friday presented a mixed picture, and that was followed by a long-expected court ruling on Trump tariffs. This week had lots of geopolitical uncertainties, from a U.S. military buildup in the Middle East to peace talks between Russia and Ukraine going s...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Mar 26 Corn closed at $4.275/bushel, up $0.0175 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Wheat closed at $5.8025/bushel, up $0.135 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Soybeans closed at $11.375/bushel, down $0.035 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Soymeal closed at $309.8/short ton, up $5 from...

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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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