World Perspectives

Zero but Not Negative Interest Rates

The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FMOC) was scheduled to meet on Wednesday of this week, but for the second time it took emergency action prior to the meeting. On Sunday, Chairman Jerome Powell announced a 100 basis point cut to the federal fund rate. This comes after the Fed announced an emergency 50 basis point rate cut on 3 March.  That puts the rate in the range of 0 to 0.25 percent, to where it was lowered in 2008 and stayed until the end of 2015. In his statement Powell generally ruled out negative interest rates like Japan and Europe have had. Back in the fall of 2019, President Trump tweeted several times that the Fed should adopt negative interest rates, or at least get down to zero rates so that the...

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feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

May 26 Corn closed at $4.6975/bushel, up $0.065 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Wheat closed at $6.08/bushel, up $0.0375 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soybeans closed at $11.685/bushel, up $0.0675 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soymeal closed at $332.5/short ton, up $10.8 from...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Export Sales

Export Sales and Shipments for March 6-12, 2026. Wheat: Net sales of 189,900 metric tons (MT) for 2025/2026 were down 58 percent from the previous week and 36 percent from the prior 4-week average. Export shipments of 383,100 MT were down 11 percent from the previous week and 7 percent from the...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds biofuel

45Z: The Next Big Thing or the Next Big Mess?

The U.S. Treasury Department is (still!) working on the Section 45Z Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit.  The broad legislative effort for the act was launched in President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and picked up with some significant adjustments in President Trump’s One Big...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Summary of Futures

May 26 Corn closed at $4.6975/bushel, up $0.065 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Wheat closed at $6.08/bushel, up $0.0375 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soybeans closed at $11.685/bushel, up $0.0675 from yesterday's close.  May 26 Soymeal closed at $332.5/short ton, up $10.8 from...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

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Export Sales and Shipments for March 6-12, 2026. Wheat: Net sales of 189,900 metric tons (MT) for 2025/2026 were down 58 percent from the previous week and 36 percent from the prior 4-week average. Export shipments of 383,100 MT were down 11 percent from the previous week and 7 percent from the...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds biofuel

45Z: The Next Big Thing or the Next Big Mess?

The U.S. Treasury Department is (still!) working on the Section 45Z Clean Fuel Production Tax Credit.  The broad legislative effort for the act was launched in President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and picked up with some significant adjustments in President Trump’s One Big...

livestock

Livestock Roundup: Cattle on Feed Preview

USDA’s monthly cattle on feed report for March will be released tomorrow. Analysts’ pre-report consensus estimates are for the total inventory on feed to be 99.3 percent of last year. Those estimates imply an on-feed inventory of 11.5 million head. The pre-report estimates were spl...

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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.

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