Escalating Drought in Paraguay and Brazil Over the past few months, the soybean market has understandably been dominated by the U.S-China trade dispute. However, there should be greater focus on the evolving dry weather situation in Brazil and Paraguay that will likely reduce their soybean output. In Brazil, the dry conditions have become a problem in the south, mainly in the state of Parana and Mato Grosso do Sul. Some areas have not had significant precipitation in almost 30 days. Rain did fall in some parts of the region last weekend, but the amounts were mostly under a half-inch. Because the soybeans in Parana were planted earlier than normal this year, the dryness is occurring at a critical time for plant development with the likelih...
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.