August has so far not been very kind to commodity markets, though it’s not as much the month’s fault as it is the fault of improved weather forecasts. CBOT futures were sharply lower on Wednesday and the mid-week weakness came despite another Russian attack on Ukrainian grain infrastructure. Overnight, Russia attacked Ukraine’s inland port of Izmail on the Danube River, which damaged a grain silo just across the river from NATO member Romania. That initially sent CBOT markets higher but traders and algos quickly returned to selling on the outlook for improved rains and cooler temperatures for the U.S. Midwest in the next two weeks. The prospect for improved corn and soybean yields kept the major ag markets on the defensive...
What You Need to Know Today: The surprises from the USDA’s Acreage report were a sharp reduction in winter wheat area from the March Prospective Plantings estimates and a larger-than-expected increase in corn area. The Grain Stocks report offered relatively few surprises, but quarterly d...
On Monday, the Trump Administration suspended the countervailing duties (CVDs) on phosphate fertilizer imports from Morocco via Executive Order. The CVDs were imposed in 2021 by the Biden Administration and were subject to a routine five-year sunset review. According to the Agricultural and Foo...
Key Takeaways: High oleic soybeans produce oil containing 70–80 percent oleic acid, improving stability and eliminating the need for partial hydrogenation, which eliminates trans fats. There are three primary varieties of high oleic soybeans available commercially: Plenish, Vistive Gold,...
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.