Agricultural futures traders are aware that futures prices for corn, wheat, soybeans and soy products tend to go down at a much faster rate than they rise. A recent case in point is the first new crop contract month for the 2018 U.S. corn crop, December. Its highest close so far in 2018 was $4.2625 on 23 May. The same contract then finished at $4.0125 yesterday (4 June), a drop of $0.25 or about 6 percent in eight trading days. By historical standards, that may not be a very large price decline during a limited period. However, it is made to seem larger by December corn’s crawling pace of three months to climb from $4.00 to reach its 2018 high close. The rapid decrease of the December corn price has essentially been triggered b...
What You Need to Know Today: Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva secured reelection on Sunday, defeating right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro despite trailing in the first round of voting. The surprise victory triggered a sharp selloff in Brazilian financial market...
The 2026 midterm elections are a week from tomorrow, but early voting has been taking place for weeks. At stake is control of Congress, including the House of Representatives, where all 435 seats are contested, and the Senate, where approximately one-third of the seats are up for election. Farm...
Key Takeaways: Total U.S. crop acres (excluding hay) are forecast to expand fractionally this year due to greater oilseed crop and winter wheat plantings. One of the key drivers of this year’s crop outlook is input costs, and crops with a lower cost profile have an advantage in producers...
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.