Corn Argentina’s corn harvest advanced 3.7 percent last week, a slow pace that is keeping overall progress well below prior years. The speed has not picked up because corn in fields still has moisture of 18-20 percent, well above the commercial standard of 14.5 percent. Harvesting with high moisture is possible, but ports will apply large discounts for above-standard moisture. Every farmer has their own strategy for dealing with this problem; some prefer to harvest and take the moisture discount while others prefer to let the grain dry in the field and risk some yield loss. Temperatures are falling and some frosts are occurring, both of which will help the crop dry faster. The Buenos Aires Grain exchange increased its estimate of th...
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.