The CBOT capped a volatile week with aggressive bear spreading in corn and sharply lower days in wheat and soybeans. The USDA’s reports from Thursday continued to drive market action on Friday with traders adjusting to the new expectations of record-large soybean acreage and 14-year lows in wheat stocks. Funds were net sellers for the day and liquidated some 6,000 contracts of wheat, 14,000 contracts of corn, 18,000 contracts of soybeans, and 10,000 contracts of soymeal. Funds were, however, net buyers in the soyoil market and added 8,000 contracts to their existing long position. Another day, another USDA report. This time, it was the Grain and Oilseed Crushing report, which featured a surprising decline in soybean crushings...
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.