General Comments The CME markets are beginning to recognize that the problem of low water in the Mississippi River and probable restrictions on draft are likely to disrupt barge traffic, which could have direct and indirect implications for grain and soy futures contracts. The most direct implication is that it may be difficult or impossible for a taker of delivery to load out anything from delivery points south of St Louis. That could restrict deliveries on corn and soybean contracts. CME officials are aware of the impending problem, but will not make any contract changes. The indirect implications mostly involve spreads. But whether draft restrictions would widen or narrow spreads would depend on the precise circumstances, and it is th...
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...
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.