As they begin planning for 2016, many producers are now thinking the big bull market might have been the worst thing to happen to production agriculture.2016 started on a sour note today for farmers. The March corn and wheat futures contracts put in new lows, and the March soybean futures contract dropped to within 8-9 cents of the contract low. 2015 was a terrible year for U.S. farmers as prices continued to collapse. The only good news was that great yields cushioned some of the pain of low prices. It would have been a complete disaster otherwise. Of course there were those pockets of weak yields that didn’t fare very well. The chart below is the latest USDA/ERS forecast for net farm income, which also isn’t pretty:We are starting to rece...
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
Infrastructure investment due diligence
On behalf of a Canadian oilseed processer WPI's team provided market analysis, econometric modeling and financial due diligence in support of a $24 million-dollar investment in a Ukrainian crush plant. Consistent with WPI's findings, local production to supply the plant and the facility's output have expanded exponentially since the investment. WPI has conducted parallel work on behalf of U.S., South American and European clients, both private and public, in the agri-food space.