Back on 22 July, we wrote … this year’s corn crop will likely have a very high moisture content. There hasn’t been a need for drying in the past five or so years, so that will add a new wrinkle to storage and the corn market this year. And that has turned out to be the case. There is a backlog of propane deliveries across the corn belt, and there are even reports of rationing as dealers are allocating deliveries to farmers. Farmers who have the capability to use natural gas have a relative advantage right now. It is the perfect storm: a wet crop and a late harvest as the weather is turning colder is boosting the competing demand for propane from the livestock/poultry and residential sectors, causing...
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.