General Comments: If there is one word that describes the grain and soy futures market this week, our pick would be lethargic. Volume is very low with price movements that are slow and limited in range. Additional inputs following the 12 October WASDE are almost totally lacking. There is little incentive for noncommercial funds to add to or shrink existing positions, and commercials have no incentive to trade beyond hedging cash transactions. And to the extent that commercials are able to manage risk by offsetting cash sales with cash purchases, they can avoid the futures markets and are likely better off as a result. Overnight trade was again slow and low. December corn traded in about a 1 cent range that could expand only to about 2.5 c...
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.