Overnight trading was mixed in terms of price action and unenthusiastic in terms of mood. Word of an agreement between the U.S. and Mexico on ways to change the terms of NAFTA had little market impact, even though Mexico is currently the biggest overall customer for U.S. grains, soybeans and products combined. As an aside, how negotiations with Canada proceed will be very interesting. U.S. trade policies are currently tilted toward protectionism, but the U.S. will press Canada to give up policies that protect its dairy industry, policies Canada has vowed to defend and maintain. Soybean futures prices continued their supply-driven sinking spell during the day session while corn prices slowly worked lower. Wheat prices traded bot...
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.