At this time of the year and, in fact, during the entire summer growing season, grain and soy markets are intently focused on supplies. What will be the level of production for major spring-planted crops in the U.S. and the Northern Hemisphere? How much of the old crop will be carried into the new crop year? This focus on how much corn, wheat, soybeans and other grains and oilseeds will be harvested is understandable. Newswires are filled with yield and production estimates from a variety of sources, including the “official” source, USDA. Often there is considerable debate over what the U.S. national average yield will be for corn and soybeans. Comments from participants in crop tours such as next week’s annual Pro Farmer...
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
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.