General Comments Markets started very strong in the Sunday evening session and built on that momentum right through today's session. Note that the open outcry session now closes at 2 p.m. CT in conjunction with the electronic trade. Agricultural markets were all about weather today. Forecasts turned significantly warmer (hotter in some areas) and drier over the weekend. We could see temperatures in the 100s across the central Corn Belt this week with little rain. Corn closed up the 40-cent limit, and that limit will be 60 cents tomorrow. Soybeans backed off a bit on a noon forecast that appeared wetter in the extended models. Soy Complex FUTURES USDA announced the sale of another 120,000 MT of new crop soybeans to China this morning...
Key Takeaways: President Trump announced $8 billion in additional agricultural assistance through the Harvest Fuel Relief Program, as USDA projects farm fuel and oil expenses will increase 28.8 percent in 2026. The package follows $12 billion in earlier relief, while government farm payments w...
Key Takeaways: A student group from the University of Chicago is protesting to bring back onion futures trading. Trading in onion futures was banned in 1958 following a spectacular bout of market manipulation that resulted in a corner of the physical market. The ban on onion futures led t...
Beef packer margins deteriorated to $141/head last week, down $55 from the prior week as fed cattle prices strengthened while the Choice cutout remained nearly unchanged. The cutout held near $373/cwt while fed cattle prices climbed $4/cwt to $224/cwt, narrowing processor profits. Despite the d...
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.