There was high-volume trading in soybeans again today after hitting record levels yesterday. The enthusiasm carried over to corn and soymeal as well, and there was good volume trading in soyoil contracts. There is understandable skepticism that China would pay 80 cents/bushel more for U.S. soybeans than Brazilian product, but no one wants to guess wrong on this one. The bull enthusiasm comes on top of other bearish indicators, including improved weather in South America, outside markets continuing to tank on tech stock fears, and U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations softening petroleum prices. Fans of volatility are having a fun ride. Reports Export Sales: USDA’s weekly Export Sales report came in lighter, with corn over 1 MMT b...
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.