Hogs and Pigs Report Coming USDA releases its quarterly hogs and pigs inventory report after trading closes today and ahead of the three-day holiday weekend. The December-February pig crop is estimated to be 33 million head or 103.7 percent of the total in the same period last year. If this is correct, it will be a record for that quarter and the fifth time in the past seven quarters that the total exceeded 32 million head. Sows kept for breeding are estimated at 6.189 million head or 101.5 percent of the same quarter a year ago, overall total inventory is pegged at 103.1 percent. Pigs-saved-per-litter in the December-February quarter are expected to be 10.54 head. Spring and summer farrowing intentions are estimated at 102.1 percen...
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
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.