As spring crop ratings plunged again last week and hard red winter wheat protein levels continue to be a concern, issues with wheat production outside of North America are also worsening.
As noted in the most recent crop progress report (see Ag Perspectives, 19 June), spring wheat crop ratings plunged again last week. They should decline again in next Monday’s report after another week with no rain across most of the northern Plains. The only good news was that temperatures were much cooler this week. The driest parts of southern Canada also stayed dry, including the primary durum production region. Yields are falling, but protein content should be high because of the drought stress. The chart below shows the current spring wheat ratings...
The corn and soy complex closed higher, with the wheat market mixed, as winter wheat closed up but spring wheat and livestock ended lower. Part of the strength for corn and soybeans may have been a weather premium, as crop planting has started out fast but warm weather has been slow to develop...
Real GDP grew at a 2 percent annual rate in the first quarter of 2026, slightly below the consensus expectation of 2.3 percent but above the 0.5 percent growth in Q4 2025. The GDP number matches the average annualized pace of growth since the peak back in late 2007, right before the Financial P...
Reflect for a moment on what you eat. There is a lot of advice out there in the ether about what you should eat, but really, what do you currently eat and how much? The good people at the USDA have some data for you, to help you answer that question. USDA says that we eat quite a bit of meat. L...
