News Updates IRAN, THE TOPIC OF THE WEEK According to reports in the market this week, Iran has found many ways to skirt the recently imposed sanctions. A number of trade agreements have been signed in the past week that will allow Iran to continue importing and exporting without dependence on the sanctioned banks.Trade agreements, which are something Iran has avoided in the past, were made with India and Pakistan in order to obtain much needed long-term supplies of wheat and rice. It is expected that Iran will import close to 2 MMT of wheat from Pakistan in coming months.Turkey also seems to be quite interested in the prospect of increased business with Iran, with at least one domestic Turkish bank, Halkbank, continuing to process paymen...
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.