General Comments Overnight trading of grain and soy futures experienced better volume than has been seen recently, but this did not translate into significant price changes. Soybeans were up about 2.5 cents, wheat was down a penny or so, and corn was fractionally higher. Traders were surprised by the surge of open interest (O/I) for corn and Chicago wheat futures after Tuesday’s trade. Corn O/I was up 27,758 contracts, and Chicago wheat O/I climbed 18,739 contracts. By contrast, soybean O/I was up a mere 49 contracts. The assumption is technical weakness encouraged noncommercials to add substantially to their short positions in corn and Chicago wheat yesterday, and now the former is close to or perhaps above 200,000 contracts and th...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
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.