With hog slaughter up this year, there is an excess of pork on the market that will affect prices, especially going into the Thanksgiving holiday when retailers will start to feature turkey. Managing the Pork Supply The table above shows a huge increase in the feeder pig receipts for last week at 126,239 head, which is the highest level by more than 6,500 head since the week ending 11 December 2015.This puts total receipts up more than 4.9 percent this year with slaughter and pork production up 1.4 percent and just 0.8 percent, respectively, to date. For the most part, slaughter weights have been held in check despite cheaper feed prices, and dressed weights have averaged about one pound less this year. Last week’s average slaughter weigh...
What You Need to Know Today: After a period of limited activity, USDA reported a sizeable 613 KMT in soybean export sales, including 330 KMT to China and 283 KMT to unknown destinations, potentially also China. The purchases represent a meaningful pickup in demand and bring China closer to ful...
Key Takeaways: Consumer spending is a key driver of the U.S. economy, and the latest retail sales data indicate that spending remains robust despite inflation. In September, total retail and food service sales rose more than 6 percent year-over-year, with food service spending up 7 percent and...
The Trump import plan for 300,000 MT of beef supplies used for ground beef, i.e., lean trim, from September through November has, according to Secretary Brooke Rollins, brought some relief to beef prices. The Executive Order states that the Secretary of Agriculture will analyze and review the m...
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.