World Perspectives
feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Worsening Food Prices

Key agricultural commodity prices have risen sharply over the past two years, some reaching their highest level in a decade (see graph below). Now the UN says that climate change could cause production to fall 30 percent at the same time food demand is forecast to rise by 50 percent. The caution with this prognostication is that it was made by two of the worst professions at forecasting: economists and meteorologists! Nonetheless, any price increases will be further compounded by the policy decisions that are being made.  Restrictions on inputs such as land, fertilizer, water, and biotechnology. Disincentives for fossil energy development. Initiatives such as local/food sovereignty. Prohibiting products from certain geographies (...

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feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Middle East, Mediterranean, and Africa Regional Analysis

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feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

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Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.1075/bushel, down $0.0225 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Wheat closed at $4.9675/bushel, down $0.0175 from yesterday's close.  Nov 25 Soybeans closed at $10.0775/bushel, up $0.01 from yesterday's close.  Dec 25 Soymeal closed at $274.1/short ton, down $0...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: New Lows for Wheat, New Highs for Cattle; Soybeans Eye Trade Talks

President Trump walked back some of his statements regarding China over the weekend, which allowed ag markets to breathe more easily this week. Soybeans and soyoil managed to post small gains to start the week after Friday’s trade-war-news-induced collapse, with traders turning hopeful th...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Middle East, Mediterranean, and Africa Regional Analysis

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feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: New Lows for Wheat, New Highs for Cattle; Soybeans Eye Trade Talks

President Trump walked back some of his statements regarding China over the weekend, which allowed ag markets to breathe more easily this week. Soybeans and soyoil managed to post small gains to start the week after Friday’s trade-war-news-induced collapse, with traders turning hopeful th...

Various Campaigns Diagnosed; EU Dependency

Various Campaigns Diagnosed  Climate Change: Since the Paris Accord in 2015, environmentalists have poured hundreds of millions of dollars publicizing the dangers of climate change. They’ve had the buy-in from elites and a cooperative media ecosystem giving attention to the “cr...

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From WPI Consulting

Illuminating the value of technical research

On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.

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