Agricultural and equity markets were all about China trade deal optimism today. President Trump was very busy tweeting very positive news about the situation, including China’s indication that it would soon buy another 5 MMT of soybeans as well as corn and wheat in future purchases. That talk and this morning’s jobs report, which that blew away estimates, pushed equities and crude oil higher. Equity markets were strong early, but they gradually drifted back towards unchanged and eventually slightly lower. The Dow and the S&P each had their best January since 1987 and 1989, respectively. The U.S. dollar was easier early in the session but finished steady. Soybean and soymeal futures were higher overnight on the positive Chi...
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.