Grains & Feed articles

How to Set Commodity Budget Rates for 2027 (Futures vs. Forecast)

How to set commodity budget rates for 2027: blend covered and open volume, choose futures or forecast, add a stress band. Worked SMP and butter example.

Commodity Hedging for Food Manufacturers: Which Tool for Which Ingredient

Commodity hedging for food companies, tool by tool: which ingredients have futures, when to use forwards or index clauses, and a worked cocoa hedge.

Commodity Price Risk Management for Food Manufacturers: The 2026 Playbook

Commodity price risk management for food manufacturers: real 2026 price swings, a 5-step framework, which ingredients you can hedge and a maturity model.

How to Respond to a Supplier Price Increase (and Check If It's Justified)

How to respond to a supplier price increase in 7 steps: get the cost breakdown, benchmark each driver, work out the justified rise. Email template inside.

Vesper x Barchart partnership: US grains data just got more granular

Vesper and Barchart have partnered to bring granular US grains pricing into one platform, with state-level and county-level data beside your other markets.

Why procurement managers pair USDA prices with price forecasts

USDA prices anchor your contracts but lag the market by weeks. See how an AI price forecast on the same USDA series turns a backward-looking

What the CBOT price really tells you (and what It doesn’t)

The CBOT price is an auction, not a forecast. See what the settle really tells US buyers, what it doesn't, and what to pair it with.

Why futures prices are not forecasts (and what a real forecasts looks like)

A futures curve is not a forecast, even when they look alike on a screen. Here's the distinction that matters for CBOT and CME procurement.

GLP-1 and baking: how manufacturers are adapting formulations to shifting consumption patterns

How GLP-1 is reshaping baking: from sugar reduction to new ingredient systems, and what reformulation means for procurement.

How GLP-1 reformulation trends can impact your bottom line and how to quantify it with cost models

How GLP-1 trends are reshaping food reformulation, shifting ingredient costs, and procurement strategies for food products.

Protein power: how the weight loss medication boom is pushing FMCGs to rethink strategy

Protein power: how the weight loss medication boom is forcing FMCG players to rethink their product offerings and sourcing strategy

At the top of the house: A Q&A with Gert-Jan van den Akker, former EVP at Cargill

Leadership, strategy and trading lessons from Gert-Jan van den Akker, former Cargill EVP, on freight, risk and building a career over 30 years in the trade.

How soft wheat and butter price trends impact your bakery margins: A bakery cost modeling guide

Discover how soft wheat and butter price changes affect bakery margins through cost modeling examples and what key price drivers to monitor.

Wheat types for industrial baking: Procurement manager's buying guide 2026

Wheat procurement best practices for industrial baking. Compare hard red, soft, durum & milling wheat prices, seasonal trends.

How weather may shape bakery ingredient prices in 2026: key recommendations on when to buy

Discover how extreme weather in 2025 is affecting global supply chains and pricing for sugar, grains, oils, cocoa, and nuts.

10 events that shaped bakery procurement: 2016–2025

Due to an ever-changing landscape, the bakery industry has become more resilient, tech-savvy, and localized in its procurement strategies.

Strategic partnership integrates 700+ Fastmarkets pricing benchmarks into Vesper's Commodity Intelligence Platform

Discover how Vesper’s new partnership with Fastmarkets brings 700+ trusted commodity price benchmarks for grains, oils & fats, and packaging.

The Evolution of Grain Markets: A Conversation with Fausto Filice

Understand the evolution of the grain market with expert insights from former wheat and corn trader at Cargill and Bunge Fausto Filice.

2024 Bakery Costs Unpacked: Butter Highs, Sugar Lows, and the Outlook for Ingredients

Explore 2024 bakery cost trends: soaring dairy, stable eggs, and falling sugar prices, plus insights into 2025 market expectations.

Weekly Weather and Crop Forecasting Analysis Available on Vesper Through New Partnership with EarthDaily Agro

Explore weekly weather and crop forecasts on Vesper with satellite data powered by our new partnership with EarthDaily Agro.

Vesper Announces Strategic Partnership with UkrAgroConsult to Provide Vessel Line-Up Data for The Black Sea Region

Vesper partners with UkrAgroConsult to provide real-time vessel line-up data for the Black Sea region on vegoils, oilseeds, grains, pulses.

Vesper Partners with LeftField to Deepen Grain Market Insights

Benefit from comprehensive weekly insights on global crop markets, including spring wheat, durum, barley, corn, oats, and rye, directly on the Vesper platform.

Demystifying Biofuels for Beginners

A beginner's guide to biofuels, from biodiesel to bioethanol: how they are made, what they replace, and the environmental and economic case behind them.

Mastering the Commodity Markets: Ben Tacken’s Journey from Grains to Global Energy Trading

Explore Ben Tacken's career in commodity trading, sharing insights, challenges, and lessons from grains to global energy.