General Comments The markets opened steady to higher Sunday based on less-than-expected rainfall across Argentina and a basically dry, warm forecast throughout this week. Soybeans eventually traded as much as 20-22 cents higher with corn 5-6 cents higher and wheat 7-9 cents higher. That all started to change at midmorning when wheat turned lower. That, in turn, dragged corn lower and brought soybeans well off their highs. Some blamed the weakness in corn and wheat on spread selling against long soybean positions, in addition to crude being down hard (more than $1.50) and the dollar index gaining nearly 0.5 percent.U.S. financial markets were also struggling after closing above 14,000 last Friday. A poor manufacturing index number plus...
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 €...
From WPI Consulting
Forecasting developments in production agriculture
On behalf of a private U.S. agricultural technology provider, WPI’s team generated an econometric model to forecast the movement of concentrated corn production north and west from the traditional U.S. Corn Belt. WPI’s model has subsequently provided quantitative support to a multi-million-dollar investment into short-season corn variety development. WPI’s methodology included a series of interviews with regional grain elevators and seed consultants. Emphasizing outreach and communication with stakeholders who possess intimate sectoral knowledge – on-the-ground insights – is a regular component of WPI’s methodologies, made possible by WPI’s ever-growing network of industry contacts.