Higher Corn Stocks Contrast with Tighter Soybean Supplies
Key Takeaways: 1 September corn stocks totaled 2.095 billion bushels, 171 million above expectations and 544 million above last year, providing additional cushion for the 2026/27 balance sheet and potentially adding near-term pressure to prices. June-August corn disappearance increased just 10...
Summary of Futures
Dec 26 Corn closed at $5.22/bushel, down $0.01 from yesterday's close. Dec 26 Wheat closed at $6.9275/bushel, up $0.04 from yesterday's close. Nov 26 Soybeans closed at $12.9775/bushel, up $0.095 from yesterday's close. Dec 26 Soymeal closed at $359/short ton, down $0.4 from y...
Market Commentary: Wet Midwest Weather, Grain Stocks Positioning Support CBOT
What You Need to Know Today: CBOT markets pared Monday’s sharp losses as traders booked short profits and adjusted positions ahead of the Grain Stocks report that USDA will release Wednesday afternoon. The 7-day QPF forecast from NOAA now shows heavy rain across the central and western C...
Energy Markets and the Slowly Disappearing Diesel Export Ban Proposal
There was encouraging news over the weekend: the White House may reject the misguided idea on Capitol Hill to ban U.S. diesel exports. What WPI has noted previously was perhaps best put by a Department of Energy report of 2022, under the Biden administration: Petroleum liquids markets are globa...
How Comparative Advantage Shapes Global Trade
Key Takeaways: Comparative advantage encourages countries to specialize in goods they can produce at a lower opportunity cost and rely on trade for others. Differences in climate, land, infrastructure, and technology help determine where agricultural commodities can be produced most efficientl...
Livestock Industry Margins
Beef packer margins improved to $196/head last week, up $20 from the prior week as fed cattle prices declined faster than the Choice cutout. The cutout eased to $375/cwt while fed cattle fell to $221/cwt, modestly widening packer spreads. Margins remain well above year-ago levels as lower cattl...
Summary of Futures
Dec 26 Corn closed at $5.23/bushel, down $0.0525 from yesterday's close. Dec 26 Wheat closed at $6.8875/bushel, down $0.145 from yesterday's close. Nov 26 Soybeans closed at $12.8825/bushel, down $0.3075 from yesterday's close. Dec 26 Soymeal closed at $359.4/short ton, down $...
Market Commentary: Everything but Soybeans
What You Need to Know Today: Last week’s Trump-Xi meetings included China agreeing to roll back $60 billion in tariffs on a huge swath of U.S. ag products, just notably not soybeans. The exclusion of soybeans from the tariff-reduction list means China’s state-run importers COFCO an...
Policy Quick Hits: Mexico, Ad Hoc Farm Assistance, Ultra-Processed Foods
Mexico Trade Deal The Trump Administration is looking for a win before the November midterm elections, now just five weeks away, especially as trade relations with Canada worsen and there is now a truce with China. The U.S. has made it clear to Mexican officials that it wants a deal with Mexico...
U.S.-China Deal Delivers Tariff Relief, but Little for Soybeans
Key Takeaways: The U.S.-China agreement lowers tariffs on several U.S. agricultural products, but the lack of additional soybean commitments or greater certainty surrounding China’s existing 25 MMT purchase pledge made the deal a slight disappointment. Lower tariffs on U.S. corn are unli...
WPI Crop Progress and Conditions App (Updated 28 September)
Developer's Note 24 August 2026: WPI recently completed an exercise that updated the codebase for this app and solved some of the discrepancies between our five-year average calculation and USDA's. There are a few lingering cases where early (late) starts (finishes) to the crop cycle resu...
Market Commentary: U.S.-China Talks Leave Markets Waiting for More
What You Need to Know Today: Headlines emerging from negotiations between President Trump and President Xi were relatively limited, with a more substantive announcement expected Monday. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer indicated that additional details related to agricultural trade cou...
Higher Corn Stocks Contrast with Tighter Soybean Supplies
Key Takeaways: 1 September corn stocks totaled 2.095 billion bushels, 171 million above expectations and 544 million above last year, providing additional cushion for the 2026/27 balance sheet and potentially adding near-term pressure to prices. June-August corn disappearance increased just 10...
Summary of Futures
Dec 26 Corn closed at $5.22/bushel, down $0.01 from yesterday's close. Dec 26 Wheat closed at $6.9275/bushel, up $0.04 from yesterday's close. Nov 26 Soybeans closed at $12.9775/bushel, up $0.095 from yesterday's close. Dec 26 Soymeal closed at $359/short ton, down $0.4 from y...
Market Commentary: Wet Midwest Weather, Grain Stocks Positioning Support CBOT
What You Need to Know Today: CBOT markets pared Monday’s sharp losses as traders booked short profits and adjusted positions ahead of the Grain Stocks report that USDA will release Wednesday afternoon. The 7-day QPF forecast from NOAA now shows heavy rain across the central and western C...
Energy Markets and the Slowly Disappearing Diesel Export Ban Proposal
There was encouraging news over the weekend: the White House may reject the misguided idea on Capitol Hill to ban U.S. diesel exports. What WPI has noted previously was perhaps best put by a Department of Energy report of 2022, under the Biden administration: Petroleum liquids markets are globa...
How Comparative Advantage Shapes Global Trade
Key Takeaways: Comparative advantage encourages countries to specialize in goods they can produce at a lower opportunity cost and rely on trade for others. Differences in climate, land, infrastructure, and technology help determine where agricultural commodities can be produced most efficientl...
Livestock Industry Margins
Beef packer margins improved to $196/head last week, up $20 from the prior week as fed cattle prices declined faster than the Choice cutout. The cutout eased to $375/cwt while fed cattle fell to $221/cwt, modestly widening packer spreads. Margins remain well above year-ago levels as lower cattl...
Summary of Futures
Dec 26 Corn closed at $5.23/bushel, down $0.0525 from yesterday's close. Dec 26 Wheat closed at $6.8875/bushel, down $0.145 from yesterday's close. Nov 26 Soybeans closed at $12.8825/bushel, down $0.3075 from yesterday's close. Dec 26 Soymeal closed at $359.4/short ton, down $...
Market Commentary: Everything but Soybeans
What You Need to Know Today: Last week’s Trump-Xi meetings included China agreeing to roll back $60 billion in tariffs on a huge swath of U.S. ag products, just notably not soybeans. The exclusion of soybeans from the tariff-reduction list means China’s state-run importers COFCO an...
Policy Quick Hits: Mexico, Ad Hoc Farm Assistance, Ultra-Processed Foods
Mexico Trade Deal The Trump Administration is looking for a win before the November midterm elections, now just five weeks away, especially as trade relations with Canada worsen and there is now a truce with China. The U.S. has made it clear to Mexican officials that it wants a deal with Mexico...
U.S.-China Deal Delivers Tariff Relief, but Little for Soybeans
Key Takeaways: The U.S.-China agreement lowers tariffs on several U.S. agricultural products, but the lack of additional soybean commitments or greater certainty surrounding China’s existing 25 MMT purchase pledge made the deal a slight disappointment. Lower tariffs on U.S. corn are unli...
WPI Crop Progress and Conditions App (Updated 28 September)
Developer's Note 24 August 2026: WPI recently completed an exercise that updated the codebase for this app and solved some of the discrepancies between our five-year average calculation and USDA's. There are a few lingering cases where early (late) starts (finishes) to the crop cycle resu...
Market Commentary: U.S.-China Talks Leave Markets Waiting for More
What You Need to Know Today: Headlines emerging from negotiations between President Trump and President Xi were relatively limited, with a more substantive announcement expected Monday. U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer indicated that additional details related to agricultural trade cou...