Trade at the CBOT was marked by early steep declines that eventually gave way to a short covering/profit taking bounce. Corn, soybeans, and soymeal all posted new contract lows and May corn tested support at $3.01/bushel. Wheat futures turned slightly lower after yesterday’s rally with little fundamental news to justify further price gains. Estimates suggest that funds sold some 9,000-10,000 contracts of corn, 4,000 contracts of soybeans and bought 8,000 contracts of wheat. Crude oil futures were sharply weaker today, except for the May WTI contract which rallied $47/barrel and rejected yesterday’s negative prices. Oil traders suggest that the worst of the storage capacity shortage will be over in the next month, but that...
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.