The season of winter farm meetings is quickly drawing to a close even though much of the farm belt has a cover of snow (at last). I was at three meetings in the past week and thought it might be worthwhile to pass along a few of the interesting comments and discussions.
Breakeven prices were discussed as part of a panel discussion in northeastern North Dakota. Breakeven price is the price necessary for a producer to break even with his/her total production costs divided by his/her average yields. The numbers were a little shocking. The breakeven price for spring wheat was pegged at $7.91/bushel. It was $5.00 for corn and $11.90 for soybeans. These costs have escalated rapidly from just a few years ago, primarily because of soari...
What You Need to Know Today: Cattle futures extended their sharp selloff Friday as weakening cash cattle prices, deteriorating feedlot profitability, and reduced packer demand continued to weigh on the market. The inability of futures to sustain a rally following last week's bullish Cattle on...
As predicted, the Federal Reserve held rates steady at the last meeting before the midterm elections, likely in part because of the election (see WPI 19 October and 22 September). The decision comes at the tail end of a midterm election cycle that has been marked by the two parties campaigning...
Key Takeaways: WPI’s new EU rapeseed crushing margin models point to weaker processing returns over the next four months due to higher rapeseed procurement costs and weaker product values. Statistical forecasts call for German crushing margins to decline from €181/MT to €...
