Corn managed to eke out miniscule gains when the soy and wheat markets moved to new daily highs in the last hour of trading, but it couldn’t hold even those tiny gains into the close. There was some fund short covering in wheat and soybeans. General Comments Much of the U.S. East Coast remains closed today because of the weekend blizzard. This includes USDA, which nevertheless released the weekly export inspection data.Markets were mixed in the Sunday evening session, but soybeans turned lower at today’s opening. This pulled corn slightly lower and wheat off its highs. Crude oil was down $1.25-1.50/barrel, although it held above $30. Asia’s financial markets were 0.5-1 percent higher, but Europe and U.S. financial markets were generally d...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
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.