Note: CBOT and CME ag futures markets will be closed on Monday, 17 February for the U.S. President’s Day holiday. WPI offices will be closed as well. Enjoy the holiday! The CBOT opened on a stronger note with short covering again the feature of the morning. As the day wore on, however two-sided trade developed as traders evened positions ahead of the long weekend. There are conflicting factors that will be in play over the weekend, the favorable (and therefore bearish) weather for Brazil’s and Argentina’s crops versus the Phase One tariff reduction for Chinese purchases of U.S. ag goods. The Chinese purchases could certainly spark a CBOT rally, which is why short positions have been pared back this week. Chin...
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.