Markets were encouraged by the fact both Canada and Mexico were able to secure 30-day delays on Trump’s tariff plans, which offers hope the duties are indeed a negotiating tactic rather than a steadfast policy platform. The big issue remains the 10 percent tariff on Chinese goods, and China’s retaliation with similar tariffs (no new tariffs have been announced for agricultural products, however) and investigations into U.S. companies. The news allowed CBOT grain and oilseed and CME hog futures to rally for the day with traders again looking to the more bullish supply and demand stories that exist outside of the trade war worries. There are plenty of bullish stories on the horizon if the U.S. can keep from sabotaging its internat...
Beef packer margins deteriorated to $156.75/head last week, down $46.05 from the prior week as fed cattle prices strengthened while gains in the Choice cutout were comparatively modest. The Choice cutout increased...
What You Need to Know Today: Oil prices moved higher early Monday before giving back some of their gains after drone attacks forced the shutdown of Saudi Arabia’s East-West Pipeline, a critical route for bypassing constrained shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. The disruption puts rou...
Key Takeaways: Expected returns to production for U.S. cow-calf producers have shifted lower from prior forecasts as cattle values fall and feed costs rise. Producer revenues are forecast 1 percent below our August outlook and will be 1.2 percent below 2025 levels. Feed costs have lessen...
From WPI Consulting
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.