Soybeans finished the night session strong with 8-9 cent gains, while wheat was mixed and corn a penny higher. Volume of trade was very big. Markets opened today with a much weaker tone in wheat with corn and soybeans mixed. The lack of follow-through from yesterday and the night session was attributed to fears about a potential trade war developing between China and the U.S. over the proposed import tariffs on steel and aluminum. Those fears had U.S. equity markets collapsing again today, and that spilled over into the agricultural commodities as well. USDA made export sales announcements for the tenth consecutive day, including 198,000 MT of soybeans to China, 121,000 M of soybeans to unknown and 20,000 MT of soyoil to unknown. U.S. equ...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
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.