There were some significant changes in today's WASDE estimates for the soybean sector, and flooding in a key province of Argentina will likely impact planting intentions there. USDA Boosts U.S. Soy Production and Exports USDA once again surprised most analysts today by boosting its forecast for U.S. 2017 soybean production. The average forecast of analysts queried by Reuters indicated expectation that it would reduce the average yield from 49.4 bushels/acre to 48.8 bushels/acre and lower the crop from 4.381 billion bushels to 4.328 billion bushels. Instead, USDA raised its estimates for the average yield and total crop to 49.9 bushels/acre (3.356 MT/hectare) and 4.431 billion bushels (120.6 MMT), respectively. If realized, production woul...
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.