As noted yesterday, USDA estimates that the food category incurring the most inflation this year in the U.S. will be fresh vegetables. Part of the problem...

Jul 24 Corn closed at $4.5525/bushel, down $0.0725 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Wheat closed at $6.9275/bushel, down $0.075 from yesterday's close...

Russian Grain Markets: 20–24 May 2024 Crop Outlook Russian weather, particularly spring frosts, became an important factor in estimating the potentia...

Overnight volume was strong at the CBOT with traders eager to get back to work following a weekend of reductions in the Black Sea crop forecast(s). Several...

Jul 24 Corn closed at $4.625/bushel, down $0.0225 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Wheat closed at $7.0025/bushel, up $0.03 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

May is World Trade Month and President Biden declared last week World Trade Week. USDA described it as the perfect opportunity to highlight the importance...

USDA’s Economic Research Service issued its updated forecast for food-related inflation in 2024 and for the most part it involves good news. Year-to-...

As WPI reported, the House Agriculture Committee marked-up the farm bill last Thursday, 23 May. Going into the mark-up, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack said the...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Egypt is reportedly looking at the possibility of importing wheat from Zi...

USDA reports U.S. Cattle on Feed is down one percent for feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head to total 11.6 million on May 1, 2024.  Placement...

Ag commodity futures were firmer to end the week with traders looking ahead to challenging weather conditions across the Northern Hemisphere and South Amer...

U.S. financial markets are closed on Monday, 27 May and consequently there will be no Ag Perspectives report on that day. WPI's analysis reports will resum...

The big surprise in this week’s CFTC report was the expansion of funds’ short position in corn by over 54,000 contracts. Funds had been aggress...

The Market For the week, July soybeans rose 20 cents (1.6 percent) to 1248/bushel. The November soybean contract added 16.25 cents. U.S. soybean futures we...

USDA released the monthly Cattle on Feed report today. The numbers came in very close to the pre-report expectations, making the report neural. Placements...

Standards not Tariffs: The complaint against China and some other countries is that production practices are more highly distorted by government policies t...

Jul 24 Corn closed at $4.6475/bushel, up $0.0075 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Wheat closed at $6.9725/bushel, down $0.0075 from yesterday's close.&...

 Export Sales and Shipments for May 10-16, 2024.   Wheat: Net sales of 17,900 metric tons (MT) for 2023/2024 were down 77 percent from the p...

Corn traded mostly higher all session and has gained value in three of the past four days. The soy complex was higher in the overnight session and opened t...

Senate Would Reject Obama President Biden has withdrawn his nominee to become the Deputy U.S. Trade Representative, Nelson Cunningham. Cunningham has stell...

Cattle on Feed Report USDA will release its Cattle on Feed report tomorrow; the consensus pre-report analysts’ estimate is for the inventory of cattl...

The big development at the CBOT on Wednesday was the lower close and apparent “hook reversal” in wheat futures, which initially traded higher b...

Jul 24 Corn closed at $4.6125/bushel, up $0.0325 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Wheat closed at $6.93/bushel, down $0.045 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

Trade and Commerce Divide Populist Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-Connecticut) wants her Democratic colleagues to undermine corporate America by disrupting...

Global sunflower seed production is only about one-seventh as large as soybean output, but it has surprisingly continued on a similar trend in supply despi...

Russian Grain Markets: 13–17 May 2024 Crop Outlook As of mid-May, Russia farmers planted 24.8 Mha of spring crops which is 44.5 percent of the foreca...

The CBOT was mixed on Tuesday with corn and the soy complex finding pressure after Monday’s Crop Progress report reflected better-than-expected plant...

Jul 24 Corn closed at $4.58/bushel, down $0.025 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Wheat closed at $6.975/bushel, up $0.0875 from yesterday's close. ...

The Senate Banking Committee’s subcommittee on Economic Policy will be holding a hearing tomorrow entitled "Protecting Consumers’ Pocketbooks:...

Activists have been pressuring the Biden Administration to take more action against Big Ag. The latest is an attack on egg production. Opponents are blamin...

USDA’s Economic Research Service has produced an expansive study entitled, World Agricultural Production, Resource Use, and Productivity, 1961–...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Iraq’s Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) hopes to reach an agreemen...

Reports of frost damage in Ukraine sent CBOT futures higher to start the week with wheat once again leading the way. Weather conditions remain challenging...

Ultra-Processed Dog Food The number of pets spiked during COVID but the overall trend has been more domestic animals and fewer human babies. Pets are lower...

Last week on Friday 17 May, WPI outlined the commodity program proposals in the House farm bill draft. Below are some key changes in the conservation and t...

New Zealand famously is a country with more sheep than people, but the competition is slipping in favor of humans. The problem is the economics of wool, wh...

Jul 24 Corn closed at $4.605/bushel, up $0.08 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Wheat closed at $6.8875/bushel, up $0.375 from yesterday's close. ...

Regional News  Russia’s agriculture ministry announced that 900,000 hectares of crops will need to be reseeded this year after several frosts/fr...

Corn  Argentina’s corn harvest continues to progress slowly, slower than WPI expected. It currently spans 25 percent of the area, which implies...

The CBOT was mixed to close a week that has generally featured quiet or range-bound trade (except the soyoil market) with traders seemingly weighing their...

The attached PDF offers graphical depiction and seasonal analysis of managed money and commercial traders' net position in key agricultural commodity marke...

Jul 24 Corn closed at $4.525/bushel, down $0.045 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Wheat closed at $6.5125/bushel, down $0.12 from yesterday's close.&nb...

The Market Despite worries about used cooking oil imports, slow exports, and a drop in the NOPA crush, July soybeans closed the week up 9 cents (0.73 perce...

As we reported Monday, 13 May, the full draft of the House Agriculture Committee’s farm bill was expected to be released today, and it was. Following...

There was little pushing the market one way or another today, other than a sense that things had been pushed high enough for now. The open was mostly highe...

Going into the summer, a big question for meat has been: how will consumer demand hold up? This is especially the case with steadily increasing beef prices...

Jul 24 Corn closed at $4.57/bushel, down $0.055 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Wheat closed at $6.6325/bushel, down $0.025 from yesterday's close.&nb...

China Retaliation? The assumption is that China will retaliate against U.S. agriculture for any new tariffs applied to Chinese goods by President Biden und...

The CBOT started out firm again in the overnight session but quickly turned lower once the day session started. The reason seemed to be “sell the fac...

China understandably responded harshly to the Biden Administration’s sharp increase in tariffs on EV’s and components. However, there is not mu...

Over the past decade, Brazilian corn production has grown faster than its output of animal protein, but that may be changing. Brazil’s corn productio...

Russian Grain Markets: 6–10 May 2024 This year’s spring weather in Russia is abnormal; last week frost was registered across European Russia ra...

The CBOT pushed higher overnight with corn notching a new four-month high and wheat futures extending their rally, but that strength quickly faded during t...

The Biden Administration just announced higher Section 301 tariffs on a host of imports from China, after the statutory four-year review of those duties im...

Jul 24 Corn closed at $4.675/bushel, down $0.05 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Wheat closed at $6.725/bushel, down $0.145 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

Tariff Man’s Competitor Former President Donald Trump prided himself on his use of tariffs, which candidate Biden criticized but now President Biden...

U.S. agriculture representatives returning from a trade mission to India are all excited about their prospects for boosting sales to the world’s most...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Saudi Arabia’s Modern Mills Company is now trading its shares on th...

In what has become a common refrain this year, wheat futures were again the upside leader in Monday’s CBOT trade as markets are increasingly concerne...

The slow roll of the details of the farm bill continues. On Friday, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson (R-Pennsylvania) released a title-b...

Psychobiotic Nonsense One component of a book called The Psychobiotic Revolution is scientifically reasonable – that the human gut biome contains tri...

Jul 24 Corn closed at $4.725/bushel, up $0.0275 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Wheat closed at $6.87/bushel, up $0.235 from yesterday's close. ...

U.S. and Mexican dairy industry representatives met and renewed their commitment to “collaborate and advocate for mutually beneficial dairy policies...

Regional News  Frosts in Russia’s central, southern, and Volga regions have halted spring planting efforts, which will likely contribute to lowe...

Wheat Brazil’s state of Rio Grande do Sul is experiencing the worst climatic catastrophe in the last 80 years, with intense rains causing major flood...

USDA’s outlook for 2024/25 U.S. soybeans is for higher supplies, increased exports, and higher ending stocks. The soybean crop is projected at 4...

USDA’s outlook for 2024/25 U.S. corn is for modestly larger supplies, increased exports, and higher ending stocks. The yield projection of 181.0 bush...

USDA’s outlook for 2024/25 U.S. wheat is for larger supplies, increased exports, and higher ending stocks. Supplies are projected to increase six per...

Jul 24 Corn closed at $4.6975/bushel, up $0.1325 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Wheat closed at $6.635/bushel, up $0.26 from yesterday's close. ...

The CBOT was higher heading into Friday’s May WASDE report from the USDA with weather and production concerns in various parts of the globe driving f...

The surprise in this week’s CFTC report is that – through Tuesday’s data reporting deadline - funds were more aggressive covering grain/o...

The Market After hitting a new contract low yesterday, the trade took July soyoil up nearly 2 cents today and closed out the week with a 3.1 percent rise t...

The 2024 election is now less than six months away. Most of the attention is being paid to various “horse race” issues such as polling, fundrai...

The trade continued to position ahead of tomorrow’s May USDA WASDE report. Some took profits as they backed out of positions but, overall, there was...

2024 is starting off to be a stronger year for broilers, and gaining momentum as the year progresses. Production through Q1 is 99 percent of last year in p...

Grossly Modified Opinion While the European Parliament’s plan for regulating New Genomic Traits (NGT’s) provides a lighter regulatory treatment...

Jul 24 Corn closed at $4.565/bushel, down $0.02 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Wheat closed at $6.375/bushel, up $0.035 from yesterday's close. ...

Export Sales and Shipments for April 26-May 2, 2024  Wheat:  Net sales of 41,100 metric tons (MT) for 2023/2024 were down noticeably from the pre...

Grain futures continue to retreat from their recent rally highs with traders unwilling to overextend risks heading into Friday’s WASDE report. The WA...

Jul 24 Corn closed at $4.585/bushel, down $0.085 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Wheat closed at $6.34/bushel, down $0.0875 from yesterday's close.&nb...

Flimsy Arguments Certain Americans are taking sides with Hamas in Gaza, arguing that it is Israel to blame. In a similar fashion, progressive groups focuse...

Although many small developing countries produce cotton, about five countries produce most of the fiber. China and India alone account for nearly half the...

Russian Grain Markets: 29 April–3 May 2024 Last week Russia celebrated International Labor Day, and on May 9 will celebrate WWII Victory Day, resulti...

The grain market fundamentals didn’t change much from Monday to Tuesday, but traders largely suspended their short-covering or long-positioning effor...

The March data for beef exports at 256.108 million pounds showed a drop in volume of 10.4 percent from March 2023, but posted the highest volume of Q1. Exp...

Jul 24 Corn closed at $4.67/bushel, down $0.02 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Wheat closed at $6.4275/bushel, down $0.06 from yesterday's close. ...

Remake Agriculture for the Climate The World Bank has issued a report on achieving net zero emissions in the agrifood system (Recipe for a Livable Planet)...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Egypt has received 1,000,000 MT of local wheat since the harvest began on...

Bulls remain firmly in charge of CBOT ag trade with weather concerns seemingly around the world prompting short covering and fresh long buying. Wheat and s...

Having Cake and Eat it Too The U.S. is a major food exporter and its sales to India are relatively small and steady due to the border measures it encounter...

Eastern European countries were upset a few years ago when it was discovered that food marketers were retailing lower quality foods in their region of Euro...

Jul 24 Corn closed at $4.69/bushel, up $0.0875 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Wheat closed at $6.4875/bushel, up $0.2625 from yesterday's close. ...

Both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees have released broad outlines that will underpin the two panels’ drafts of the farm bill. Reports fro...

Regional News  Algeria purchased 200 KMT of hard wheat – rumored to originate in France – at $249-250/MT C&F.  Turkey issued an i...

Corn Currently, Argentine farmers have harvested 22 percent of the corn area, with a weekly progress of only 2.3 percent. While soybean harvesting takes pr...

The CBOT followed the higher trend it established earlier this week with still more bullish news emerging to close the week. First off, the weather remains...

The attached PDF offers graphical depiction and seasonal analysis of managed money and commercial traders' net position in key agricultural commodity marke...

The Market For the week, the July soybean contract added 37.75 cents (3.2 percent) in value. November soybeans closed out Friday’s trading at $12.01/...

Circling the Corral Florida now bans the marketing of cultivated meat. Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said lab-grown meat was a threat to the state’s...

Jul 24 Corn closed at $4.6025/bushel, up $0.005 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Wheat closed at $6.225/bushel, up $0.1825 from yesterday's close. ...

As the implications of California’s Proposition 12 and Massachusetts’ Question 3 play out in the marketplace, yet another animal welfare ballot...

After days of flat to faltering closes, corn and soybeans have now rebounded the past two days, and today wheat joined the rally. In two days, July corn ha...

Live cattle and feeder cattle futures rallied today after feeling the pressure of news and speculation about HPAI. As WPI reported previously, USDA announc...

Jul 24 Corn closed at $4.5975/bushel, up $0.09 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Wheat closed at $6.0425/bushel, up $0.05 from yesterday's close. ...

Export Sales and Shipments for April 19-25, 2024  Wheat:  Net sales reductions of 20,300 metric tons (MT) for 2023/2024 were down noticeably from...

The CBOT saw another day of mixed trade with livestock futures pushing sharply lower as demand fears resurface while wheat futures drew back for a third st...

Food is First Victim Food comprises just 6 percent of all U.S. exports, but it is the first to receive retaliation in trade disputes. The latest example is...

Bread is a critical basic food in Egypt and Russia has been a prime supplier. But Russian wheat prices have been rising, and now two shiploads of the commo...

Jul 24 Corn closed at $4.5075/bushel, up $0.04 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Wheat closed at $5.9925/bushel, down $0.04 from yesterday's close. ...

Russian Grain Markets: 22–26 April 2024 Russian analysts are beginning to worry that this season’s grain production in Russia may drop from alm...

First notice day for May futures yielded heavy deliveries against the soyoil contract and, to a lesser extent, soybeans and soymeal. CBOT wheat also saw de...

The Treasury Department released its guidance on an updated Greenhouse Gases, Regulated Emissions and Energy Use in Transportation (GREET) model for sustai...

Fertilizer Supplies: The U.S. Department of Commerce is recommending reduced tariffs on fertilizer imported from Russia, but increased duties on supplies f...

Olive oil is a niche product, comprising just under one percent of total global vegetable oil production. It is also higher priced, and only becoming more...

Jul 24 Corn closed at $4.4675/bushel, down $0.025 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Wheat closed at $6.0325/bushel, down $0.0525 from yesterday's close...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Egypt reports it has received 900,000 MT of local wheat since the harvest...

The CBOT saw mixed trade to start the week with wheat futures (except the MGEX market) pulling back amid profit taking and a general feeling of a correctio...

Carbon Wars The EU is moving forward with its plans for a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), and with its EU Deforestation Regulation. Despite clai...

On 15 April WPI reported: House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson (R-Pennsylvania) has stated that he will move a farm bill draft out of commit...

Plants such as beans, lentils and chickpeas are the nutritional rage. They are plant derived foods with higher protein content and thus their production an...

Jul 24 Corn closed at $4.4925/bushel, down $0.0075 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Wheat closed at $6.085/bushel, down $0.1375 from yesterday's close...

Corn Argentina’s corn harvest only advanced by 2 percentage points last week as the rains show no mercy, making it difficult for farmers to enter the...

Regional News  ProZerno forecasts Russia’s 2024 total grain production will hit 135-136 MMT, down from 144.9 MMT in 2023. Wheat production is fo...

Large supplies and a strong dollar took their toll this week on corn and soybeans, but they still managed to outperform. Weather worries pushed wheat highe...

The Market Brazil has been winning the soybean export war, and imported biodiesel feedstock threatens domestic crush margins, but Chicago trading this week...

Jul 24 Corn closed at $4.5/bushel, down $0.02 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Wheat closed at $6.2225/bushel, up $0.0175 from yesterday's close. ...

The Q1 2024 GDP was 1.6 percent, well below the pre-report consensus expectation of 2.4 percent, and down from 3.1 percent in Q1 2023 and 3.4 percent in Q4...

As WPI readers likely well know by now, U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an inflation- and seasonally-adjusted 1.6 percent rate in Q1 2024, which...

Export Sales and Shipments for April 12-18, 2024  Wheat:  Net sales of 82,000 metric tons (MT) for 2023/2024 were down noticeably from the previo...

Thursday April 25, 2024...

Wheat remains the star of the ag commodity space this week with the rally continuing on challenging weather prospects for the U.S. HRW region, Europe, and...

Most Apparent Solution The EU’s organic sector wants the bloc’s officials to take more action to ensure they achieve the target of 25 percent o...

Yesterday, the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) issued a federal order requiring testing and reporting of highly pathogenic avian influen...

Corn, soybeans and soyoil all closed lower after trading up the previous three sessions. July soymeal made it a fourth trading session higher, and wheat re...

Cow-calf producer margins are discussed less frequently in these pages than their downstream counterparts of feedlot and beef packer margins, but this does...

Thank you...

Reigniting a Transatlantic Deal  Former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta is something of a policy rock star after authoring a report on the future...

Russian Grain Markets: 15–19 April 2024 International sanctions and reverse measures Russia adopted towards “unfriendly” countries may le...

The spring 2024 wheat rally continues as weather threats linger for the U.S., Europe, and the Black Sea. Weather forecasts that offer a challenging outlook...

Hecho en Mexico While outgoing Mexican president and populist AMLO tries to shutdown American farmers, the U.S. government just keeps giving to Mexico. The...

South Africa’s Crop Estimates Committee warns that instead of a previously expected 13.8 percent increase in maize production in 2024/25, output coul...

Thank you...

Last Friday, 19 April, the EPA issued an emergency waiver for E15 to be sold through the summer driving season. The topline takeaway of that action is posi...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Iran, Bangladesh, and the UAE were major destinations for Indian soymeal...

Friday’s strength in CBOT and broader global ag commodity futures was simply a foreshadowing of the rallies that would develop on Monday. Heading int...

Trading Waste Rich Westerners consumed so much plastic that even though landfills take much of it, their export of plastic waste now overwhelms Asia. Then...

Please refer to Summary Page...

Agriculture is both water and energy. As a prime input to food production, agriculture has long been characterized as the exporting of water. Now it is inc...

Regional News  Early-morning frosts were reported across Poland down to France as crops are reaching growth stages that are sensitive to cold. It&rsqu...

Wheat  Wheat from the 2024/25 campaign remains a topic of discussion in Argentina, with conflicting views regarding the area to be sown. The reality o...

The CBOT was mostly higher to end a mostly bearish week with wheat leading the way on several mildly bullish developments. Wheat futures saw price-supporti...

Based on futures’ price action late last week and early this week, one would be expecting funds to have been net sellers in the major ag commodities,...

USDA released the monthly Cattle on Feed report today. Total inventory, placements and marketings all came in lower than the pre-report estimates, though t...

May 24 Corn closed at $4.335/bushel, up $0.0675 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Wheat closed at $5.6675/bushel, up $0.1375 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

• U.S. Cattle on Feed (in feedlots with capacity of 1,000 or more head) totaled 11.8 million head on April 1, 2024 and was 1 percent above April 1, 20...

The Market Soybeans sharply rebounded on Friday after hitting a one month low the day before, likely on short covering. For the week, May soybeans lost 16...

Export Sales and Shipments for April 5-11, 2024 Wheat:  Net sales reductions of 93,600 metric tons (MT) for 2023/2024 were down noticeably from the pr...

The bearishness continues as South America crops loom and Northern Hemisphere weather is stable. The impending flood of Argentine soymeal and soyoil onto t...

Transatlantic GI’ing Consumers Politicians on both sides of the Atlantic protest big business and their sacrilegious capitalism. Yet sometimes it is...

May 24 Corn closed at $4.2675/bushel, down $0.035 from yesterday's close.  Jul 24 Wheat closed at $5.53/bushel, up $0.0075 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

USDA will release its Cattle on Feed report tomorrow; the consensus pre-report analysts’ estimate is for the inventory of cattle on feed as of 1 Apri...

The CBOT was mixed on Wednesday with wheat futures dropping amid fund selling due to a stronger U.S. dollar and easing Russian FOB offers while corn drifte...

May 24 Corn closed at $4.3025/bushel, down $0.0075 from yesterday's close.  May 24 Wheat closed at $5.37/bushel, down $0.1275 from yesterday's close.&...

A Washington International Trade Association discussion on trade policy with former officials from both the Trump and Biden administrations reinforced the...

USDA reports that per capita flour consumption in 2023 fell to the lowest level in 37 years. Flour production and exports were lower, but so were flour imp...

Russian Grain Markets: 8–12 April 2024 During the first week of April, the Russian domestic grain market remained quite volatile but predominantly st...

The CBOT was mostly lower on Tuesday with broadly favorable weather in the U.S. and South America allowing timely planting and harvesting, respectively, of...

Supply Chain Diversity EU policy experts have assembled a tome on the “State of Food Security in the EU.” The biannual report focuses on how to...