The CBOT sold off once again amid pronounced pressure from outside macroeconomic markets. Last week’s Fed interest rate hike – the fastest since the 1970’s – combined with Britian’s new economic policy and the election results in Italy sent macro traders into a selling frenzy. The big concern, of course, is the looming threat of a recession, which could dent demand for physical commodities. The CBOT, despite tight stocks predicted for corn, wheat, and – to a lesser extent – soybeans, succumbed to the selling to start the week and major ag markets all headed lower. Notably, the selloff was the most pronounced in the livestock markets as falling meat prices combined with a semi-bearish Cattle on Feed...
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.