After trade war fears sank grain and soy futures yesterday, the overnight session opened cautiously. Prices edged a bit higher, but trading was tentative and volume was low. Yesterday’s emotional lashing left markets in a highly oversold state. However, without a signal that further discussions between U.S. and Chinese officials are planned, buyers will be reluctant to jump back in. When the day session opened with firmer prices, more selling was attracted and prices slipped into the red. The balance of the day saw soy and corn prices struggle to stay around yesterday’s closes. Wheat contracts were today’s market leader with support from strong cash markets, especially for HRW. Nearby Chicago wheat contracts closed...
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.