World Perspectives
farm-inputs

When All the Money Goes to Debt

There are some parallels to be drawn between the predicament that debt-laden commodity businesses find themselves in and our personal households. Although gross oversimplification is a risk, this is one way to examine the situation. Commodity headlines this week are dominated by the free fall of Glencore stock as the company appears stuck between a rock (debt) and a hard place (the slowing economy in China undermining overall commodity prices). The problems faced by Glencore and similar businesses are complex, but the basic mechanism underlying them perhaps is not. There are some parallels to be drawn between the predicament that debt-laden commodity businesses find themselves in and our personal households. Although gross oversimplifica...

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livestock

Livestock Industry Margins

Beef packer margins rallied sharply last week and posted their second week of gains to end essentially at breakeven levels. Margins rose $142/head and hit an estimated -$0.89 as fed cattle prices collapsed $7/cwt and beef values rose nearly $4/cwt. Packer margins should continue to improve with...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Soybeans, Wheat Rally on China Buying; USDA Confirms Report Release

Rumors of Chinese buying supported soybeans and SRW wheat futures on Monday and sent both contracts to new rally highs. For soybeans, the biggest news drivers were details that the White House shared about China’s soybean purchase commitments and China’s confirmation that it will su...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.3425/bushel, up $0.0275 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Wheat closed at $5.435/bushel, up $0.095 from yesterday's close.  Jan 26 Soybeans closed at $11.3425/bushel, up $0.19 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Soymeal closed at $320.8/short ton, down $0.8 fro...

livestock

Livestock Industry Margins

Beef packer margins rallied sharply last week and posted their second week of gains to end essentially at breakeven levels. Margins rose $142/head and hit an estimated -$0.89 as fed cattle prices collapsed $7/cwt and beef values rose nearly $4/cwt. Packer margins should continue to improve with...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Soybeans, Wheat Rally on China Buying; USDA Confirms Report Release

Rumors of Chinese buying supported soybeans and SRW wheat futures on Monday and sent both contracts to new rally highs. For soybeans, the biggest news drivers were details that the White House shared about China’s soybean purchase commitments and China’s confirmation that it will su...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.3425/bushel, up $0.0275 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Wheat closed at $5.435/bushel, up $0.095 from yesterday's close.  Jan 26 Soybeans closed at $11.3425/bushel, up $0.19 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Soymeal closed at $320.8/short ton, down $0.8 fro...

Offer Ownership; False Equivalence

Offer Ownership U.S. Senator Kevin Cramer (R-North Dakota) has urged the U.S. Justice Department to investigate the “Big Four” meat packing companies, suggesting their excessive market power is the reason consumers are being charged high prices for beef. The North American Meat Inst...

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From WPI Consulting

Accountability and a comprehensive approach to export programming

WPI’s team helped construct a strategic approach to develop, implement, and track promotional activities in 8 key regions across the globe for an agricultural export association. With continued progress measurement and strategic advisory services from WPI, the association has seen its ROI from investments in promotional programming increase by 44 percent over the past 5 years. Not only does this type of holistic approach to organizational strategy provide measurable results to track and analyze, it fosters top-down and bottom-up organizational accountability.

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