World Perspectives
feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Known Unknowns

The market traded today on a little bit of what it knows, and a little bit on what it speculates to be happening. Since it is hard to believe that weeks of high heat and low moisture in the western periphery of the U.S. production belt will not have the same impact it had on crops earlier this year in Brazil, private forecasters putting lower output numbers in ink hold credence. By contrast, USDA is conservative and is unlikely to kill the crop in early August.  The market adds up suboptimal crops in the U.S., falling yields in Russia, quality concerns in Europe, and logistics hurdles in South America all running headlong into good global demand. But most of this is not new and so trading volume was light overnight and similar today e...

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livestock

Livestock Industry Margins

Beef packer margins finally turned positive last week, the first time packers have made money killing cattle since last October. Margins swung dramatically from a -$131/head loss the prior week to a $15/head gain to close out June. The profits came from the sharp rally in beef prices, a $5/cwt...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: USDA Reports Offer Few Surprises, Weather Dominates Trade Outlook

The USDA’s Grain Stocks and Acreage reports dominated the CBOT’s attention on Monday with the Noon ET release of both datasets driving the day’s action. There were relatively few surprises in the report but minor deviations from expectations helped create support in new crop s...

Un-Trade Agreements; Ag in Big Beautiful Bill; CAP Controversy

Un-Trade Agreements It did not take long for Canadian officials to reverse their digital services tax after President Trump threatened to end trade negotiations. Canada is second only to Mexico in terms of trade dependence on the U.S. Many Canadian producers are already hurting from trade sanct...

livestock

Livestock Industry Margins

Beef packer margins finally turned positive last week, the first time packers have made money killing cattle since last October. Margins swung dramatically from a -$131/head loss the prior week to a $15/head gain to close out June. The profits came from the sharp rally in beef prices, a $5/cwt...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: USDA Reports Offer Few Surprises, Weather Dominates Trade Outlook

The USDA’s Grain Stocks and Acreage reports dominated the CBOT’s attention on Monday with the Noon ET release of both datasets driving the day’s action. There were relatively few surprises in the report but minor deviations from expectations helped create support in new crop s...

Un-Trade Agreements; Ag in Big Beautiful Bill; CAP Controversy

Un-Trade Agreements It did not take long for Canadian officials to reverse their digital services tax after President Trump threatened to end trade negotiations. Canada is second only to Mexico in terms of trade dependence on the U.S. Many Canadian producers are already hurting from trade sanct...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

WPI Crop Progress and Conditions App (Updated 30 June)

Update for 28 April 2025: Last year, users pointed out differences between the 5-year averages reported in this app and what USDA estimates in its weekly report. The difference exists because WPI calculates average based on the last 5 years of observations for the current week. In cases where o...

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From WPI Consulting

Weighing in on strategic realignment

WPI’s team was retained by the governing board of a U.S. industry organization to review a decision, reached by vote, to invest significant assets into the development and management of an export trading company. WPI’s team conducted a formal review of this decision and concluded that the current level of market saturation would limit the benefits of the investment. Based on WPI’s analysis and recommended actions, the board subsequently reversed its decision and undertook a strategic planning effort to identify more impactful investments. On behalf of numerous clients, WPI has not only assisted in identifying strategic paths but also advised their implementation.

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