General Comments 'Twas the day before the July WASDE and futures trading was dominated by a Turnaround Tuesday and pre-report profit taking mentality. The trade seems to be guessing that in the absence of actual field surveys, USDA/NASS will offer up a conservative, which is to say bearish, view of yield and production losses as a result of the drought. The drought is approaching historic proportions east of the Mississippi River, and last week's brutal heat set too many high temperature records from the Rocky Mountains to the Atlantic Coast to count. USDA/NASS may wish not to appear so conservative as to lose credibility, so tomorrow's numbers may not be quite as bearish as the market consensus assumes.There has been a big inflow of non...
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
Weighing in on strategic realignment
WPI’s team was retained by the governing board of a U.S. industry organization to review a decision, reached by vote, to invest significant assets into the development and management of an export trading company. WPI’s team conducted a formal review of this decision and concluded that the current level of market saturation would limit the benefits of the investment. Based on WPI’s analysis and recommended actions, the board subsequently reversed its decision and undertook a strategic planning effort to identify more impactful investments. On behalf of numerous clients, WPI has not only assisted in identifying strategic paths but also advised their implementation.