The CBOT was mixed at mid-week with wheat futures continuing to see support from the pending votes in Ukraine about whether four regions will join Russia. Moreover, signals from Russia’s President Putin indicate the country is preparing a significant escalation in the war effort, which will likely directly undermine Ukraine’s export opportunities. Western political leaders have condemned and decried Russia’s recent moves, but additional, tangible actions are presently lacking. Corn and soybeans initially found some support from the wheat market but ran into technical resistance and retreated in moderate volume trading. Funds exerted only a quiet influence in the markets Wednesday and are thought to have been net buyers som...
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.