The CBOT came under pressure Thursday from a combination of end-of-year profit taking and rains that are pushing into southern Brazil. Traders were eager to book profits in ag commodities after their Christmas-time rally with only two trading days left in the year. Commodities have been excellent investments this year and funds are looking to close the books with above-normal returns. The proximate catalyst for Thursday’s selling, however, was rains that fell across southern Brazil on Wednesday. Brazil’s Parana and Mato Grosso do Sul states received 0.25-1 inches of rain overnight and central/northern Brazil received as much as 2.5 inches. The 7-day forecast calls for better chances of rain across central Brazil that will pus...
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.