World Perspectives
livestock

Record Choice Select Spread; U.S.-Canada Dairy Spat Goes Beyond NAFTA

The demand for higher grade beef has been driving up cattle prices. Meanwhile, more countries are joining the U.S. regarding its concern about Canada’s new dairy policy. Record Choice Select Spread Cattle futures prices have mostly stabilized this week as cash prices trend bullish. Last year cattle feeders suffered large amounts of red ink, and that led to lenders insisting on more risk coverage, which helped buoy futures prices. Now with strong demand for beef, packers are finding that fewer cattle have been grading Choice. As a result, they are willing to spend more freely for higher quality grading animals, which is helping to boost live cattle prices and feeder margins. The Choice-Select spread is now at record levels, and the Choice...

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feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Absent Chinese Demand, Supply Dominates the Mood

Markets were over-weight on the Xi – Trump phone call this morning. The phone call went well enough but after it became clear there was no deal on ag or soybeans, the latter turned south. Beans and meal had traded higher overnight and at the open, but like all three wheats, closed on loss...

livestock

Cattle of Feed - Sep 2025

U.S. Cattle on Feed in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.1 million head on September 1, 2025. The inventory was 1 percent below September 1, 2024.  Placements in feedlots during August totaled 1.78 million head, 10 percent below 2024.  Marketings of fed cattle du...

livestock

Cattle on Feed Report Shows Record Low Marketings

USDA’s monthly Cattle on Feed report was released today at 3 p.m. Total cattle on feed amounted to 11.1 million head, 99 percent of last year, as expected.    Placements and marketings came in slightly more bullish than the pre-report estimates, but still close, within one perc...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Absent Chinese Demand, Supply Dominates the Mood

Markets were over-weight on the Xi – Trump phone call this morning. The phone call went well enough but after it became clear there was no deal on ag or soybeans, the latter turned south. Beans and meal had traded higher overnight and at the open, but like all three wheats, closed on loss...

livestock

Cattle of Feed - Sep 2025

U.S. Cattle on Feed in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head totaled 11.1 million head on September 1, 2025. The inventory was 1 percent below September 1, 2024.  Placements in feedlots during August totaled 1.78 million head, 10 percent below 2024.  Marketings of fed cattle du...

livestock

Cattle on Feed Report Shows Record Low Marketings

USDA’s monthly Cattle on Feed report was released today at 3 p.m. Total cattle on feed amounted to 11.1 million head, 99 percent of last year, as expected.    Placements and marketings came in slightly more bullish than the pre-report estimates, but still close, within one perc...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.24/bushel, up $0.0025 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Wheat closed at $5.225/bushel, down $0.0175 from yesterday's close.  Nov 25 Soybeans closed at $10.255/bushel, down $0.12 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Soymeal closed at $284/short ton, down $0.7 fro...

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From WPI Consulting

Communicating importance of value-added products

Facing increasing pressure to quantify the value of export promotion efforts to investors, a U.S. industry organization retained WPI to develop a quantitative model that better communicated the importance of exports. The resulting model concluded that value-added meat exports contributed $0.45 cents per bushel to the price of corn, increasing support for that sector’s financial support of WPI’s client. In addition to serving the red meat industry with this type of analysis, WPI has generated similar deliverables for the U.S. soybean and poultry/egg industries.

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