World Perspectives
farm-inputs

South America’s Fertilizer Situation

Rabobank reports that fertilizer supplies will improve in 2023 with downward pressure on phosphate and potash prices, but nitrogen may see a 20-30 percent price hike. This is an important competitiveness factor for agricultural exporters. North and South America both have abundant supplies of petroleum, though the North produces four times as much. Natural gas is a most efficient source for nitrogen, and North America annually produces more than five times as many terawatt-hour equivalents in natural gas than does South and Central America.  South America’s share of global agricultural trade is growing, provided food sovereignty movements and eco-protectionism doesn’t stop it. But at this juncture, the region is more depen...

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FOB Prices and Freight Rates App (Updated 20 December)

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Market Commentary: The Soybean Breakdown

The country song Oklahoma Breakdown (originally written by Mike Hosty, subsequently popularized by red dirt country artist Stony LaRue, then eventually covered by Toby Keith who, in this analyst’s opinion, ruined it) contains the line “That Oklahoma Breakdown sure do got you cryin’” – a stateme...

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feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Corn Bounces while Soybeans Fall; Cattle and Hogs Post Bearish Reversals

The CBOT was mixed on the start of the last full trading week of 2024 with exports and South American weather being the primary variables to affect market dynamics. The corn market turned higher on the strong export pace and on some hints of dryness emerging in south-central Argentina. The KC w...

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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.

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