Jul 23 Corn closed at $6.2325/bushel, up $0.155 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.615/bushel, up $0.3125 from yesterday's close. ...

China Balancing Act A diplomatic spat between Seoul and Beijing has relations between these two East Asian neighbors quickly souring. Meanwhile, Chinese Pr...

We’ve moved past Memorial Day, this weekend is Fathers’ Day, and it will soon by the 4th of July Independence Day holiday – all prime tim...

Volume was generally lighter (except for HRS) as a technically over-bought market took advantage of a correction for profit-taking. Right now it is all abo...

  Russian Grain Markets: 5 – 9 June 2023  The second week of June remained bearish with the fundamental factors remaining the same: lower e...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $6.0775/bushel, down $0.0475 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.3025/bushel, down $0.06 from yesterday's close.&...

We regret to inform subscribers that WPI's analyst in China is currently ill and thus there is no report this week. ...

Note: WPI chief market analyst Matt Herrington is away on travel until 20 June.  New crop futures traded higher again today as there is still no impro...

TPP Re-enactment Society USTR says the next and fourth round of negotiations on the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) will be held in Busan, South Kor...

The monthly CPI for May was up 4 percent over 12 months; that is down from the April to April annual increase of 4.9 percent and slightly below the pre-rep...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $6.125/bushel, down $0.0475 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.3625/bushel, up $0.025 from yesterday's close.&nb...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Tunisian President Kais Saied said that efforts must be made to insure th...

Note: WPI chief market analyst Matt Herrington is away on travel until 20 June.  Agricultural commodity futures continue to be driven by the El Nino a...

The leading indoor vertical agriculture (also known as controlled environment agriculture) AeroFarms has filed for bankruptcy protection under Chapter 11&n...

USTR: Two years ago, it would have been deemed implausible but USTR Katherine Tai is now being criticized by Congressional Democrats for a lack of consulta...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $6.1725/bushel, up $0.13 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.3375/bushel, up $0.035 from yesterday's close. ...

Soybeans Trade activity was more quiet last week in Brazil. China made purchases for July and August positions but the number of vessels involved was limit...

USDA’s projection for U.S. soybeans is for 2023/24 ending stocks of 350 million bushels, up 15 million from 2022/23. Global 2023/24 ending stocks are...

USDA’s projection for U.S. corn is for increases to both beginning and ending stocks: U.S. exports are lowered 50 million bushels and ending stocks a...

USDA’s projection for U.S wheat in the current 2023/24 season is total U.S. wheat production of 1,665 million bushels.  This is a production lev...

Before the June report was issued, corn and wheat were trading lower and soybeans were up by around 18 cents. Overall, the report was bearish both corn and...

Macroeconomics Food Inflation Soars to 1 Percent in May After seeing food prices rise by just .4 percent in April, May saw a sharp rebound driven by the co...

It was another losing week for soymeal but soyoil will likely be at the top of the financial market’s percentage gainers.  According to the CFT...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $6.0425/bushel, down $0.06 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.3025/bushel, up $0.04 from yesterday's close. ...

Most eyes on today’s WASDE were looking at the crop side since this is the first look at the 2023-24 supply and demand numbers. The livestock project...

Corn, wheat, and soybean futures all rose today, despite some forecasts for an improving weather pattern. There may also be some pre-WASDE positioning wher...

Except for an overstated IPEF, President Biden has put trade policy up on a shelf but there is knocking from all directions to put its policymaking back on...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $6.1025/bushel, up $0.06 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.2625/bushel, up $0.095 from yesterday's close. ...

The 1985 farm bill created the whole herd buyout program in response to falling milk prices. In Ireland, a potential buyout program is being considered to...

Export Sales and Shipments for May 26-June 1, 2023  Wheat:  The new 2023/2024 marketing year began June 1. A total of 877,400 MT in sales were ca...

Today’s trading brought corn and wheat back down to earth based on possible improved rains next week. Emphasis on possible since nothing is assured...

Greenest Exporters Transatlantic duties on steel and aluminum were suspended in 2001 after the U.S. and EU agreed to pursue a Global Arrangement on Sustain...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $6.0425/bushel, down $0.0375 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.1675/bushel, down $0.11 from yesterday's close.&...

Russian Grain Markets: 29 May – 2 June 2023  Russian farmers are in the final stage of spring planting. Russian Ministry of Agriculture reported...

There was a lot of input coming at the market today, but the only significant movements came in corn and soyoil.  First up was news that the Kakhovka...

Brazil Helps Brussels EU foreign policy has designated Latin America as the region of the world deserving closer relations. Most of the countries in the re...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $6.08/bushel, up $0.105 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.2775/bushel, up $0.0375 from yesterday's close. ...

On 1 June, a bipartisan group of 21 members of the House of Representatives asked USTR to address Brazil’s treatment of U.S. ethanol, specifically a...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Morocco’s current zero wheat import tax is expected to be extended...

Note: WPI chief market analyst Matt Herrington is away on travel until 20 June.  It was a modest volume day with trading initially unclear about what...

Last week, the California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) issued a “Q&A” fact sheet on Prop 12. The primary question answered was...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $5.975/bushel, down $0.115 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.24/bushel, up $0.05 from yesterday's close. ...

Dhaka’s The Daily Star reports that Bangladesh seeks to avoid the increased trade disciplines that comes with the country’s elevation above lea...

Europe has been a major producer, consumer, and exporter of pork but that is changing. Seven out of the top ten per capita consuming countries in the world...

Soybeans  It seems that there were several traders who were long on positions and suddenly became nervous as the demand failed to materialize. Consequ...

The CBOT was mostly higher for the day with each of the major markets rallying based on different sets of fundamental reasons.  Corn was the decided u...

As WPI has reported many times over the past two years, conventional economic data is difficult to decipher because the impact of COVID and its aftermath w...

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

Jul 23 Corn closed at $6.09/bushel, up $0.165 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.19/bushel, up $0.0825 from yesterday's close.  J...

The Market There were notable price movements the past few days despite it being a holiday abbreviated trading week. November soybeans gained 37.25 cents i...

Challenging Mexico GMO Policy The U.S. formally requested USMCA dispute settlement consultations with Mexico over its proposed ban on GMO corn. The move co...

Export Sales and Shipments for May 12-18, 2023  Wheat:  Net sales reductions of 45,100 metric tons (MT) for 2022/2023--a marketing-year low--were...

Thursday’s release of USDA’s weekly Drought Monitor report reinforced that new crops in the ground could begin to feel some stress. The report...

USDA released its updated food expenditure series this morning. Going into the farm bill and SNAP debate – and in light of the debt ceiling deal...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $5.925/bushel, down $0.015 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.1075/bushel, up $0.165 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

Deforestation Proxy It was revealed this week that Brazil is exporting 120 KMT of soybeans to the U.S. and the State Department immediately announced that...

The CBOT traded a volatile day with overnight weakness leading to a selling spike as the day session started. That weakness, however, was quickly met with...

Livestock Financials Reports Show Major Hog Companies Awash in Debt On 30 May, Ao Nong Biotechnology Co., Ltd., the fifth largest hog farming company in Ch...

Siloing of U.S. Agriculture  California state legislators saw the Supreme Court’s green light on Prop 12’s Sacramento driven animal welfar...

Sorghum is a minor crop, logging in just 5 percent of the global production of its close cousin corn. This is in large part due to its lower yield and more...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $5.94/bushel, up $0 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $5.9425/bushel, up $0.0325 from yesterday's close.  Jul...

Russian Grain Markets: 22 – 26 May 2023  Russian farmers continue their spring planting campaign. The Minister of Agriculture reports that aroun...

The CBOT started the week on a bearish note with expectations for strong planting progress across the U.S. and sluggish demand weighing on markets. Friday&...

IPEF Blah, TTC Heat USTR Katherine Tai achieved agreement over the weekend on language focused on supply chains in the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $5.94/bushel, down $0.1 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $5.91/bushel, down $0.25 from yesterday's close.  J...

Nutritionists advise eating more fruits and vegetables (F&V). On a calorie basis, F&V can be more expensive than a diet of carbs and fats so a tria...

Over Memorial Day weekend, Congressional leaders and the White House announced an agreement on the debt limit and a budget plan that puts caps on discretio...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Tunisia’s President said that recent wheat shortages have been...

The CBOT was mostly higher heading into the three-day holiday weekend with dryness and drought concerns for the Corn Belt pushing corn futures higher and h...

U.S. financial markets are closed on Monday, 29 May and consequently there will be no Ag Perspectives report on that day. WPI's analysis reports will resum...

Meat Loaf Wisdom U.S. Trade Ambassador Katherine Tai concluded a U.S. led meeting of APEC trade ministers in Detroit today without an agreed joint statemen...

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

Jul 23 Corn closed at $6.04/bushel, up $0.1325 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.16/bushel, up $0.1175 from yesterday's close. ...

The Market If traders were nervous headed into the three-day Memorial Day weekend, concerns appeared to be to the upside. The lack of demand had soybean pr...

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) ruled on the Sackett v EPA case yesterday regarding the definition of waters of the United States (WOTUS) u...

Sometimes markets trade with momentum, an ongoing path in the same direction. Sometimes there are reversals. There is often a day trading open that initial...

It’s a tough time to be in the hog and pig business. California’s Proposition 12 was upheld by the Supreme Court, and with that decision, Massa...

Wetting Down Party Farmers, real estate developers, and industry are celebrating a Supreme Court ruling that limits the government’s regulation of ce...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $5.9075/bushel, up $0.035 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.0425/bushel, down $0.02 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

Livestock Downward Price Pressure to Remain Firm Through Q2 According to the latest official survey data from China’s Ministry of Agriculture and Rur...

Export Sales and Shipments for May 12-18, 2023 Wheat:  Net sales reductions of 45,100 metric tons (MT) for 2022/2023--a marketing-year low--were up 7...

April 2023 total red meat and poultry stocks were up from March and were 2.02 percent greater than April 2022 as the industry continues to rebuild stockpil...

The CBOT was mixed at mid-week with diverging weather patterns pushing corn and wheat in different directions. For the central and eastern Corn Belt, the w...

Europe’s Bad Boy Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban is not well liked in Brussels, nor in Kyiv. Not only does he rankle Western Europe’s dem...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $5.8725/bushel, up $0.0975 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.0625/bushel, down $0.16 from yesterday's close.&nb...

Russian Grain Markets: 15 – 19 May 2023  Russia’s grain markets remained bearish. Russia’s position during negotiations of the UN gr...

South Korea imposed increased inspection requirements on U.S> supplied beef following the finding of an atypical BSE case in South Carolina. Atypical ca...

The CBOT was mixed on Tuesday with corn and wheat firming with increased short covering and buying interest amid oversold technical conditions and recent s...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $5.775/bushel, up $0.065 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.2225/bushel, up $0.16 from yesterday's close. ...

The debt ceiling and budget agreement talks between Congress and the White House resumed yesterday, after a Sunday phone call between President Biden, as h...

USMCA Action and Future Washington invoked the USMCA’s rapid-response mechanism against Mexican worker rights violations for an eighth time. The Bide...

Some members of the U.S. Congress want more support going to fruits and vegetables. They note that the overwhelming majority of farm bill income support an...

The CBOT turned higher to start the week with short covering on deeply oversold technical conditions and a dry 10-day weather forecast for the central and...

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres attended the weekend’s G-7 summit in Hiroshima. At the meeting, he suggested the UN Security Council and the Br...

A five-year-old cow in South Carolina was discovered to have a case of atypical BSE late last week. USDA’s Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (AP...

Bloomberg cites UKRAgroConsult’s data showing that U.S. HRW wheat has been priced above competing sources (France, Russia, Ukraine, EU) for well more...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $5.71/bushel, up $0.165 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.0625/bushel, up $0.0125 from yesterday's close. ...

Regional News  The European weather is shifting more favorably for crop development over the next week with cooler-than-normal temperatures predicted...

Wheat There was a lot of anticipation regarding the rains that were forecast for this past weekend, and most of the Buenos Aires province received a good a...

The CBOT was, once again, mostly lower to end a week of strong selling as fund liquidation and speculative short selling continued. There was little fresh...

USDA released its monthly Cattle on Feed report today; the inventory of cattle and calves on feed on feedlots with 1,000 head capacity or more on 1 May was...

The Market The floor fell out of the soybean market this week as the November contract lost 48.25 cents, closing below $12/bushel for the first time in two...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $5.545/bushel, down $0.0075 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.05/bushel, down $0.0675 from yesterday's close.&n...

Good weather boosting crops in Brazil, the U.S. and elsewhere, an extension of the Black Sea grain corridor, and a rising dollar all conspire to extend the...

Livestock Price Pressures For Domestic Hogs and Chickens Continue In a recent interview, the chief pork industry analyst for the Ministry of Agriculture an...

The House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry held a hearing yesterday, entitled "A Review of Animal Agriculture Stakeholder Prioritie...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $5.5525/bushel, down $0.0625 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.1175/bushel, down $0.1375 from yesterday's close...

Transatlantic Biofuel Split Brussels is ready to finalize its Renewable Energy Directive III (RED) with just one small glitch remaining. France and some ot...

Export Sales and Shipments for May 5-11, 2023. Wheat:  Net sales reductions of 42,100 metric tons (MT) for 2022/2023--a marketing-year low--were down...

The CBOT feature one-direction trade at mid-week – lower – with funds continuing to rapidly exit long positions in the grain markets and/or pil...

For many years U.S. agriculture was able to compete as a low-cost, bulk commodity supplier. Its farms were large and consolidated, enabling economies of sc...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $5.615/bushel, down $0.1975 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.255/bushel, down $0.22 from yesterday's close.&nb...

Russian Grain Markets: 8 – 12 May 2023  Russia’s grain markets remained bearish with the volume of trade miniscule because of traditional...

Weak macroeconomic markets and good planting progress in Monday’s Crop Progress report sent the CBOT sharply lower on Tuesday. Corn and soybeans led...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $5.8125/bushel, down $0.1125 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.475/bushel, down $0.1325 from yesterday's close...

Debt Limit Spread President Biden says he will return early from his trip to the G-7 meeting in Japan due to the lack of agreement on raising the U.S. debt...

Although coffee futures are edging back up (Arabica hit a peak a month ago), prices are descending in longer dated contracts as Brazil is expected to suppl...

As we outlined back in March, reform to the Federal Milk Marketing Order (FFMO) pricing formula is a good bet for the farm bill. Indeed, reform efforts are...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Afghanistan is facing a severe infestation of Moroccan locusts in the exp...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $5.925/bushel, up $0.0625 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.6075/bushel, up $0.2575 from yesterday's close.&nbs...

Friday’s WASDE was bearish corn and soybean futures, but you wouldn’t know that from Monday’s price action. Both markets turned higher wi...

Zero Sum Technology The center-right European People’s Party is undermining codification of the Green Deal’s goal of halving pesticide usage. O...

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

The price of olive oil has hit over $6,000/MT on a combination of increased demand and a production shortfall in Spain caused by drought, or what some clai...

At President Biden’s invitation, the four bipartisan leaders of the House and Senate agriculture committees met with the President at the White House...

Wheat Wheat prices continue to rise in Argentina’s local market, mainly due to millers’ participation as farmer sales remain low. While many mi...

Regional News  Russian sources indicate the country plans to extend the Black Sea grain export corridor agreement for another 60 days starting 18 May...

USDA’s estimate for 2023/24 U.S. soybeans is for higher supplies, crush, and ending stocks, and lower exports compared with 2022/23.  The soybea...

USDA’s estimate for 2023/24 U.S. corn is for higher ending stocks.  The corn crop is projected at a record 15.3 billion bushels, up more than 10...

USDA’s estimate for 2023/24 U.S. wheat is reduced stocks.  All wheat production is projected at 1,659 million bushels, up modestly from last yea...

There were no major surprises in USDA’s May WASDE report, but there was enough to push up the volume in trading. Larger production and ending stocks...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $5.8625/bushel, up $0.04 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.35/bushel, up $0.0775 from yesterday's close. ...

The Market It was a tough week for soybeans, which must have seen a dead cat bounce last week because this week peeled back the July contract by 46.5 cents...

Most eyes on today’s WASDE were looking at the crop side since this is the first look at the 2023-24 supply and demand numbers. The livestock project...

Doth Protest Too Much: China criticized Japan for its decision to host a NATO liaison office in Tokyo. It accused Japan of dismantling trust and stability...

It might be called pre-positioning ahead of tomorrow’s USDA May WASDE report, but it looked like more of the same. Corn and wheat took their dings, b...

Macroeconomics Food Prices See Their Smallest Uptick in 13 Months While food prices this past April were up year-on-year for the 13th consecutive month, th...

Agriculture Exception U.S. House Republicans are set to pass legislation today clamping down on border crossings but it required a last minute concession t...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $5.8225/bushel, down $0.1175 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.2725/bushel, down $0.14 from yesterday's close.&...

In a decision released today, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) upheld California’s Proposition 12 which imposed minimum space requirem...

Export Sales and Shipments for April 28 - May 4, 2023 Wheat:  Net sales of 26,300 metric tons (MT) for 2022/2023--a marketing-year low--were down 88 p...

The CBOT was mostly lower at mid-week with pre-WASDE position evening and consolidative trade being the primary feature. Funds tried to aggressively sell t...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $5.94/bushel, up $0.0925 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.4125/bushel, down $0.0225 from yesterday's close.&nb...

Backdoor Farm Bill President Biden has invited the top Democrat and Republican from both the House and Senate Agriculture Committees to meet tomorrow and d...

Decades ago, WPI’s staff was dominated by “Wheaties,” analysts who favored studying wheat. One analyst famously declared his “love&...

Russian Grain and Oilseed Markets: 1–5 May 2023  Russia’s grain markets remain bearish. Russia is struggling with low prices for grains fo...

The CBOT was mostly lower on Tuesday as the strong planting progress reflected in Monday’s Crop Progress data eased many lingering concerns about the...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $5.8475/bushel, down $0.1175 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.435/bushel, down $0.105 from yesterday's close.&...

The Biden Administration is trying to shore up support for its trade policy ahead of next year’s election, but some are not buying it. National Secur...

A bipartisan group of U.S. Congressmen are asking USTR Katherine Tai and the Biden Administration to mount a WTO challenge to India’s use of agricult...

President Biden and the four top Congressional leaders - House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-California), Minority Leader Hakeem Jefferies(D-New York), Senate...

Regional Updates MEDITERRANEAN/MIDDLE EAST/NORTH AFRICA/AFRICA – MEA REGION Morocco’s Ministry of Agriculture said that 2023 cereals production...

The CBOT was mixed to start the week with traders increasingly focused on positioning for the May WASDE report that USDA will release on Friday. That meant...

Anti-Big is Anti-Competitive White House economic advisor Lael Brainard bragged at last week’s anti-monopoly summit meeting that the Biden Administra...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $5.965/bushel, up $0 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.54/bushel, down $0.0625 from yesterday's close.  Ju...

Pork prices have been volatile but that has not prevented U.S. pork exports from rising. In fact, there is a slight negative correlation (-.28) between fro...

Wheat Wheat markets in Argentina have started to react to the ongoing drought and its impact on the wheat planting effort. This has resulted in higher pric...

Purdue University released its latest monthly Ag Economy Barometer last week; the barometer is a joint project with the CME Group and is based on a monthly...

Regional News  The EU Commission has places restrictions on the import of Ukrainian wheat, maize, rapeseed, and sunflower seed into five member states...

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

Friday’s CBOT trade featured a late-week rally with wheat leading the way as traders now seem to believe that the April rains in the Southern Plains...

The Market After hitting a seven-month low, soybeans rebounded this week, gaining 17¼ cents. It was soymeal dragging down the whole complex. There w...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $5.965/bushel, up $0.075 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.6025/bushel, up $0.1525 from yesterday's close. ...

As WPI has reported several times, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is the key issue for the next farm bill, much like it was in 2014...

Building Hunger The Global Network Against Food Crises says global hunger rose for a fourth straight year, jumping by a third to about a quarter of a billi...

Corn, wheat, and soybeans traveled in the red for much of the morning trading before wheat turned higher and old crop corn and soybean contracts reversed l...

Jul 23 Corn closed at $5.89/bushel, up $0.005 from yesterday's close.  Jul 23 Wheat closed at $6.45/bushel, up $0.0525 from yesterday's close.  J...

Geographical changes in dairy production have been a long unfolding trend, but today’s USDA release of milk production and milk cow inventory by stat...