Recent Livestock Analysis
Market Commentary: CBOT Turns Lower on Weather, Pre-WASDE Consolidation
Except for the red-hot soyoil market, the CBOT was mostly lower on Monday, with favorable South American weather and pre-WASDE position adjustment driving the day’s mentality. Corn, wheat, and soybeans all settled slightly lower Monday in either consolidative trade or a continuation of ch...
Summary of Futures
Mar 26 Corn closed at $4.2875/bushel, down $0.015 from yesterday's close. Mar 26 Wheat closed at $5.2875/bushel, down $0.01 from yesterday's close. Mar 26 Soybeans closed at $11.1075/bushel, down $0.045 from yesterday's close. Mar 26 Soymeal closed at $297.8/short ton, down $5...
Argentina Beef Imports Outlook for 2026
At the 2026 Cattle Industry Convention, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., urged producers to expand the beef herd in a “fireside chat” with National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Buck Wehrbein. Kennedy, however, acknowledged that he...
CFTC COT Report Analysis
WPI recently expanded our analysis of the weekly CFTC Commitments of Traders data to include reports on the regime (trending, cyclical, or transition) of each commodity we include. This addition will make it easier for clients to draw actionable inferences from the data that can support trading...
Market Commentary: Geopolitics Skews the Week
It was another day of big volume in the soy complex. While soybeans closed higher for a fourth session, corn and wheat failed to follow, or perhaps their drag pulled soybeans back to fundamental reality. There are still no new export sales. The Chinese are smart, and if they intend to buy...
Summary of Futures
Mar 26 Corn closed at $4.3025/bushel, down $0.0475 from yesterday's close. Mar 26 Wheat closed at $5.2975/bushel, down $0.055 from yesterday's close. Mar 26 Soybeans closed at $11.1525/bushel, up $0.03 from yesterday's close. Mar 26 Soymeal closed at $303.6/short ton, up $0.4...
Market Commentary: Soybean Spillover Rides Another Day
There was high-volume trading in soybeans again today after hitting record levels yesterday. The enthusiasm carried over to corn and soymeal as well, and there was good volume trading in soyoil contracts. There is understandable skepticism that China would pay 80 cents/bushel more for U.S. soyb...
Summary of Futures
Mar 26 Corn closed at $4.35/bushel, up $0.055 from yesterday's close. Mar 26 Wheat closed at $5.3525/bushel, up $0.085 from yesterday's close. Mar 26 Soybeans closed at $11.1225/bushel, up $0.2 from yesterday's close. Mar 26 Soymeal closed at $303.2/short ton, up $7 from yeste...
Livestock Roundup: Dairy Herd
The U.S. dairy herd in 2025 expanded at the fastest pace since the 1950s and reached a level that has not occurred since the early 1990s. Based on the USDA monthly milk production report for December, the milk cow herd totaled 9.567 million head, up from the prior month and 212,000 head from a...
Livestock Industry Margins
Beef packer margins weakened further, with estimated net losses widening to -$233/head. While boxed beef values continued to firm, gains were outpaced by higher fed cattle prices, pressuring gross margins despite stable carcass weights and drop values. Packer profitability remains well below se...
Market Commentary: Soybeans Surge as Trumps Says China in for Another 8 MMT
There are days in the commodity markets when it feels like nothing is happening in any market, and then there are days when it feels like everything is happening in every market. Today was one of the latter days. The big headline in ag trade Wednesday was the soybean futures and broader s...
Summary of Futures
Mar 26 Corn closed at $4.295/bushel, up $0.01 from yesterday's close. Mar 26 Wheat closed at $5.2675/bushel, down $0.02 from yesterday's close. Mar 26 Soybeans closed at $10.9225/bushel, up $0.265 from yesterday's close. Mar 26 Soymeal closed at $296.2/short ton, up $4.3 from...
Market Commentary: CBOT Turns Lower on Weather, Pre-WASDE Consolidation
Except for the red-hot soyoil market, the CBOT was mostly lower on Monday, with favorable South American weather and pre-WASDE position adjustment driving the day’s mentality. Corn, wheat, and soybeans all settled slightly lower Monday in either consolidative trade or a continuation of ch...
Summary of Futures
Mar 26 Corn closed at $4.2875/bushel, down $0.015 from yesterday's close. Mar 26 Wheat closed at $5.2875/bushel, down $0.01 from yesterday's close. Mar 26 Soybeans closed at $11.1075/bushel, down $0.045 from yesterday's close. Mar 26 Soymeal closed at $297.8/short ton, down $5...
Argentina Beef Imports Outlook for 2026
At the 2026 Cattle Industry Convention, Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., urged producers to expand the beef herd in a “fireside chat” with National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) President Buck Wehrbein. Kennedy, however, acknowledged that he...
CFTC COT Report Analysis
WPI recently expanded our analysis of the weekly CFTC Commitments of Traders data to include reports on the regime (trending, cyclical, or transition) of each commodity we include. This addition will make it easier for clients to draw actionable inferences from the data that can support trading...
Market Commentary: Geopolitics Skews the Week
It was another day of big volume in the soy complex. While soybeans closed higher for a fourth session, corn and wheat failed to follow, or perhaps their drag pulled soybeans back to fundamental reality. There are still no new export sales. The Chinese are smart, and if they intend to buy...
Summary of Futures
Mar 26 Corn closed at $4.3025/bushel, down $0.0475 from yesterday's close. Mar 26 Wheat closed at $5.2975/bushel, down $0.055 from yesterday's close. Mar 26 Soybeans closed at $11.1525/bushel, up $0.03 from yesterday's close. Mar 26 Soymeal closed at $303.6/short ton, up $0.4...
Market Commentary: Soybean Spillover Rides Another Day
There was high-volume trading in soybeans again today after hitting record levels yesterday. The enthusiasm carried over to corn and soymeal as well, and there was good volume trading in soyoil contracts. There is understandable skepticism that China would pay 80 cents/bushel more for U.S. soyb...
Summary of Futures
Mar 26 Corn closed at $4.35/bushel, up $0.055 from yesterday's close. Mar 26 Wheat closed at $5.3525/bushel, up $0.085 from yesterday's close. Mar 26 Soybeans closed at $11.1225/bushel, up $0.2 from yesterday's close. Mar 26 Soymeal closed at $303.2/short ton, up $7 from yeste...
Livestock Roundup: Dairy Herd
The U.S. dairy herd in 2025 expanded at the fastest pace since the 1950s and reached a level that has not occurred since the early 1990s. Based on the USDA monthly milk production report for December, the milk cow herd totaled 9.567 million head, up from the prior month and 212,000 head from a...
Livestock Industry Margins
Beef packer margins weakened further, with estimated net losses widening to -$233/head. While boxed beef values continued to firm, gains were outpaced by higher fed cattle prices, pressuring gross margins despite stable carcass weights and drop values. Packer profitability remains well below se...
Market Commentary: Soybeans Surge as Trumps Says China in for Another 8 MMT
There are days in the commodity markets when it feels like nothing is happening in any market, and then there are days when it feels like everything is happening in every market. Today was one of the latter days. The big headline in ag trade Wednesday was the soybean futures and broader s...
Summary of Futures
Mar 26 Corn closed at $4.295/bushel, up $0.01 from yesterday's close. Mar 26 Wheat closed at $5.2675/bushel, down $0.02 from yesterday's close. Mar 26 Soybeans closed at $10.9225/bushel, up $0.265 from yesterday's close. Mar 26 Soymeal closed at $296.2/short ton, up $4.3 from...