The general chaos that has plagued the U.S. financial markets this week is having a negative spillover impact on more markets. Crude oil dropped more than $3.00/barrel at one point today and is now trading back below $60.00. The Dow and S&P also again had volatile trading. Bottom pickers appeared early in the session in hope of catching an updraft, but they are nervous buyers and flee the market at the first signs that this isn’t the day for a major turnaround. This negative action is not supportive of an agricultural futures market that was reminded again yesterday that U.S. and world supplies are big. Weather is starting to create at least some preliminary concerns that 2018 North American production might not be as large as in...
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.