Corn and soybeans have been the primary focus of the markets since last summer's U.S. Corn Belt drought. That drought didn't have much impact on U.S. wheat yields. In fact, 2012 spring wheat yields were not affected by the drought at all. As the table below shows, 2012 tied the record wheat yield. The Northern Plains generally had very good crops because of a very good subsoil moisture profile. Nevertheless, wheat ending supplies slipped lower for the third consecutive year, primarily because of the strong pace of wheat feeding. Many analysts have paid little attention to wheat supply and demand numbers for either the U.S. or the world. In fact, we are already starting to see estimates of a very large 2013 world wheat crop. That's a subje...
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 €...
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.