General Comments Grain and soy futures played on both sides of Tuesday's closes without much in the way of direction during overnight trading and again during the day session. Price movement was limited and stuck within narrow trading ranges. Soybeans traded in a 10-12 cent range, while corn's range was 6-7 cents and CME wheat stayed within a 7-8 cent price band. However, only corn managed to finish on the plus side for the day and then by only about 2 cents. Volume was light to moderate. From a macro point of view, the government shutdown, talk about a possible U.S. default and how markets might suffer if it were to occur certainly do not encourage adventuresome trading. From a narrower point of view, markets have now gone for over a...
What You Need to Know Today: Chinese purchases of U.S. soybeans continued to accelerate, with USDA reporting another 558 KMT sold to China and 236 KMT to unknown destinations. Combined with sales announced Wednesday and Thursday, the latest purchases bring the three-day total to approximately...
Key Takeaways: With the fall calf run now upon us, producers are finally getting a glimpse of what their realized profits will be for 2026. Some producers may have already obtained a strong estimate of 2026 revenues, especially if calves were forward sold in, for example, the mid-summer...
As fall begins, wild migratory birds are starting their seasonal migration. That has the industry and government officials worried about the potential spread, again, of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Some members of Congress have called for the United States to be prepared for a pote...
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.