The general attitude of the markets is that the world is “awash” in everything. It’s tough to argue that statement if looking at the absolute supply numbers (bushels or MTs). When considering stocks-to-use ratios and the annual expansion in world consumption, the view isn’t quite as bearish. This is especially true if factoring China’s percentage of world corn and wheat stocks into the equation, which are currently at about 42 percent and 47 percent, respectively, of the surpluses. Take China’s wheat stocks out of the world equation, and the stocks-to-use ration drops from about 36 percent to 22 percent. That isn’t far from the ratio of around 18 percent in 2007/08, which was the lowest in modern ti...
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.