As it is Tuesday, grain and soy futures markets moved in opposite directions from Monday’s price action. Grain prices weakened, while soybeans gained back part of yesterday’s losses. General Comments The U.S. Federal Reserve Bank’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) began its October policy meeting today in the wake of recent economic data indicating that the U.S. economy may be slowing and that inflation was well below its 2 percent goal. In light of the negative input, it is now considered unlikely that the Fed will raise interest rates tomorrow. What analysts will be looking for as they parse the Fed’s statement is any clue about what it might do at its next meeting in mid-December. Although Fed Chairperson Janet Yellen earlier all b...
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.