U.S. trade policy has been a constant companion for grain and soy markets virtually every day since President Trump was inaugurated in January 2017. One of his first moves was to pull the U.S out of the pending Trans-Pacific Trade Partnership (TTP) agreement among Pacific Rim countries. He then demanded that NAFTA be renegotiated under threat that the U.S. would otherwise withdraw from it. He slapped tariffs on steel and aluminum imports under the guise of national security, including some from long-time trading partners and allies. Chinese trading practices and the large U.S. trade deficit with that country have been favorite Trump targets since early in his campaign. He initiated a trade dispute with China by putting tariffs on imports f...
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
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.