Four months ago, there were quite a few complaints about the lack of market volatility. Has this glum outlook really changed for the better? Obviously, the answer is yes, but how much better and for how long are questions still to be answered.Four months ago, quite a few people involved in grain, oilseed, cash and derivative markets were complaining about the lack of market volatility, which was being flattened by large supplies and prospects that they might grow even larger. There were many days when the spot corn futures contract traded in just a 4 cent range or less. Cash markets were equally discouraging. Lulled by the large supplies of grain and soybeans, end users saw no need to extend their coverage beyond hand-to-mouth with the resu...
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.