China's Soybean Imports Almost Certain to Decline It is becoming increasingly clear that China's soybean imports in the current marketing year will be lower than imports from a year ago because of the effects of the avian flu outbreak. Consumers have sharply reduced their consumption of chicken meal since the flu outbreak in China, and demand for soymeal has declined as a result.A group from the U.S. Soybean Export Council was at an event in Shanghai this week attended by officials from the soybean processing and animal feed sectors. They learned from local feed millers that demand for animal feed in the Shanghai area is down by about 30 percent and that animal production is being sharply reduced. It is not clear if other parts of the co...
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.
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...