THE OPEN Jan beans: steady Dec meal: .30 lower Dec soyoil: 20 lower Dec corn: 1 1/4 lower Dec wheat: 1/4 higher The markets opened as expected and found more selling pressure in corn on good harvest weather and increased global competition (South American offers are now more competitive into Jan as well as Dec). Weaker grains seemed to impact the soy complex, with small profit-taking in oilshare. As regards politics and trade negotiations, the Wall Street Journal reported that the "phase one" deal would include Chinese purchases of American farm goods, rules to deter currency manipulation, and provisions to protect intellectual properties. The idea of a phase one deal was to stop further tariffs from going int...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
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.