World Perspectives

Old President, Old Allegiances

President Biden sided with the steel workers union and will put Nippon Steel’s purchase of US Steel through the “serious scrutiny” of the Administration’s own Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). As noted previously (Blatant Nationalism), Nippon Steel is likely far more reluctant to lay off workers than US Steel, which has purged them by the thousands in recent years. More importantly, Biden’s defense of an old and minor sector of the economy while attacking the much larger and future focused IT sector betrays the downside of his age.  The IT sector accounts for $1.9 trillion of the U.S. value-added GDP or around 10 percent of the economy. And it is growing at 8.2 percent CAGR. By...

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Summary of Futures

Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.2875/bushel, down $0.065 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Wheat closed at $5.355/bushel, down $0.1925 from yesterday's close.  Jan 26 Soybeans closed at $11.075/bushel, down $0.2675 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Soymeal closed at $312.7/short ton, down $...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Corrections Lower, and Maybe Yet Lower

There was a “show me the money” attitude in today’s trading as caution replaced yesterday’s enthusiasm in both ag markets and on Wall Street. Let’s count the many sources of hesitation. Soybeans, meal, and wheat have all been overbought with high RSI’s. ...

livestock

Livestock Roundup: U.S. and Global Beef Markets

USDA confirmed last Friday, 31 October, that despite the shutdown several key reports will be issued, including the November Cattle on Feed report, scheduled for 21 November.  There will be no data from the October report, but that information could be available through the month-to-month...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.2875/bushel, down $0.065 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Wheat closed at $5.355/bushel, down $0.1925 from yesterday's close.  Jan 26 Soybeans closed at $11.075/bushel, down $0.2675 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Soymeal closed at $312.7/short ton, down $...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Corrections Lower, and Maybe Yet Lower

There was a “show me the money” attitude in today’s trading as caution replaced yesterday’s enthusiasm in both ag markets and on Wall Street. Let’s count the many sources of hesitation. Soybeans, meal, and wheat have all been overbought with high RSI’s. ...

livestock

Livestock Roundup: U.S. and Global Beef Markets

USDA confirmed last Friday, 31 October, that despite the shutdown several key reports will be issued, including the November Cattle on Feed report, scheduled for 21 November.  There will be no data from the October report, but that information could be available through the month-to-month...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds

Historic Trends in USDA’s November Crop Production Report

Heading into next week’s (mercifully) planned USDA Crop Production and WASDE reports, a key focus of the markets has been forecasting the agency’s yield numbers.  Over the past five years, USDA has exhibited a tendency to reduce its forecast of the corn and soybean yield, harve...

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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.

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