The CBOT traded a volatile day with overnight weakness leading to a selling spike as the day session started. That weakness, however, was quickly met with end-user buying, bottom-picking, and short-covering that boosted spot corn and soy complex futures while adding strength to wheat markets more broadly. Fresh news was light, but the U.S. weather forecast remains hot and dry for the central and eastern Corn Belt over the next 10 days, which helped create some “weather risk” buying. Funds were net buyers in corn, wheat, and the soy complex, though the activity was heavily focused on old crop futures. The CBOT seems to be hanging on a decision point where futures – and old crop markets in particular - need to decide whether...
What You Need to Know Today: U.S. launches naval escort operations in the Strait of Hormuz as Iran attacks UAE oil infrastructure, escalating geopolitical risk and supporting energy and broader commodity markets Biofuel demand entering uncharted territory, with soyoil valuation increasingly di...
The Middle East is said to be undergoing a transformation as economic priorities transcend security concerns. This is evidenced by diversification away from oil and the UAE’s departure from OPEC. Meanwhile, the Palestine issue has been deprioritized, and Iran has emerged as more destabili...
All eyes are shifting to the Senate following the House passage of a farm bill last Thursday. Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman (R-Arkansas) is targeting the end of May or early June for a bill markup. According to Boozman, the House “going ahead and passing something was re...
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.