General Comments Monday's important WASDE looms over the markets, but it was not the only factor in play today. Cash markets, export sales and weather all had some impact as well. Futures markets acknowledged that cash bids for spot supplies of corn and soybeans were on the rise again. Apparently, many users want to obtain ownership of enough physical supplies to carry them through September and are finding it hard to do so in the current price environment.Nearby futures contracts responded by widening the inverse between them and new crop contracts. With open interest below 2,000 contracts and trading volume of less than 1,000 contracts, August soybeans no longer matter in the bigger picture. However, September soybeans jumped to clos...
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.