Another Leader Down The announcement that Japanese Prime Minister Shinzö Abe will resign to focus on a chronic health issue was a shock and could be disruptive. Abe ended Japan’s previous run of frequent turnover at the top and became the longest serving leader in history. His abilities were not limited to leading his own country since he had a better relationship than any other world leader with the volatile Mr. Trump. Changes at the top typically invoke difficult transition periods and there is plenty of change ahead. Germany, and Europe will lose the leadership skills of Angela Merkel next year. There will be volatility regardless of who wins the U.S. presidency this November. No one is indispensable, but some are better lead...
What You Need to Know Today: Commodities were mostly lower across the board today after yesterday’s Federal Reserve meeting hinted at a potential interest rate hike later in 2026. The dollar index reached its highest level in over a year, and a strong dollar makes U.S. agricultural expor...
Tomorrow is the Juneteenth federal holiday, and the USDA, along with the rest of the federal government and the CME, will be closed, so the monthly Cattle on Feed report was released a day early. The total number of cattle on feed in feedlots with 1,000 head or more capacity on 1 June amounted...
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.