The CBOT was mostly lower to end the week with corn, soybeans, wheat, and both cattle contracts all posting losses by the closing bell. The only real gainer was the lean hog market, where futures rallied to triple-digit gains on relative strength in the cash market. Trading volume was light across the board as traders saw little reason to further adjust positions following the October WASDE. The WASDE was bullish corn and wheat, which has kept length in the corn market while wheat continued to back away from Monday’s panic-rally highs. The trade is now almost solely focused on the lingering U.S. harvest and any frost/freeze risks and then U.S. export prospects. Seasonally, the market is entering a time of typical weakness in wheat fut...
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.