General Comments With the NYSE open and East Coast banks and funds back in operation, grain and soy futures markets seemed to spark up not only in terms of higher prices, but also in terms of trading volume. Prices started out firm in the overnight electronic session, and they maintained and/or gained strength throughout. That carried over into the day session in which wheat, corn and soybeans each put in a solid performance. Funds were noticeably more active today than had been the case during the last two sessions. And today funds were buyers across the board. We doubt that the fact that today is Halloween had anything to do with it. Funds remain holders of substantial long positions in corn and soybeans, and today is the end of the mo...
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.