The drought across the U.S. Corn Belt is getting worse, not better. Weekend rains were far more scattered than expected and the 10- to 14-day outlook looks very warm and very dry. The national media has picked up on the drought story and we've seen many interviews with farmers talking about how tough the drought will be on farmers' incomes this year. Nothing could be farther from the truth. One of the big benefits of the federal crop insurance program since the first big rally of 2007/08 is that farmers have had high price guarantees because market prices have been very strong. 2012 is no exception.The following is a very quick and simple primer of the crop insurance program.
Farmers' proven crop yields are a 10-year rolling average...
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 €...
