Corn and wheat futures settled higher Tuesday with influence from the ongoing war in Ukraine, poor U.S. winter wheat ratings, and falling crude oil prices. The corn market shrugged off early weakness created by the oil selloff as end-user and importer demand picked up on the break. The weak energy environment, however, kept soyoil and the rest of the soy complex on the defensive and all three legs of the soy crush declined. Funds were net buyers of some 16,000 contracts of corn and 6,000 contracts of wheat, while selling 3,000 contracts of soybeans. China is once again grappling with rising COVID-19 infections that are prompting a wave of renewed lockdowns and economic restrictions. The news has directly impacted crude oil as the prospects...
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.