Livestock producer margins were mostly higher last week as gains in physical cattle prices and deferred hog futures supported profitability expectations. Feedlot margins for both placements and closeouts rose sharply last week, and in the case of closeout marketings neared all-time record highs. Placement margins are still negative, however, due to rising feed and feeder cattle costs. Beef packer margins fell slightly last week as weaker beef values offset steady fed cattle values. In the hog sector, closeout margins for farrow-to-finish and wean-to-finish operations decreased due to hedging losses and weaker basis levels while farrowing/placement margins rose on higher deferred futures. Finally, hog packer margins ticked slightly higher on...
Key Market Insights The broad market is locked in on this week’s Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing, but this is no longer just a trade summit. Increasingly, the meeting is becoming tied directly to Iran, energy security, and the growing global economic fallout from disruptions through the Strai...
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.