Bilateral Bungling The WTO Ministerial starts this weekend in Buenos Aires, but no major outcome is expected since the U.S. is supposedly focused on bilateral agreements. However, that focus doesn’t seem to be in much better shape than the WTO process. Japan just completed a free-trade agreement (FTA) with the EU, something that will help European farmers ship more of their products into Busan, but Tokyo has rebuffed the Trump administration’s request for trade negotiations. Then there is South Korea, which has an FTA with the U.S. However, that is littered with high tariffs on beef, rice and other products. Yet representatives from Seoul are trying to convince Washington that the status quo is good while deflecting attention t...
What You Need to Know Today: USDA reports are delayed until Tuesday due to the federal holiday on Monday. Over the weekend, President Trump announced a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Russia warmly welcomed and confirmed this ceasefire by conducting more strikes against Ukraine. Specific...
On Saturday, 10 October, at a campaign rally in Clarksville, Tennessee, President Trump said that the U.S. and Mexico would come to terms on a new trade deal, and he said Canada does not need to be part of the deal. Trump called the coming agreement with Mexico “great” but gave no d...
Key Takeaways: The United States has steadily lost global wheat export market share since the 1970s, falling from the world's leading exporter to a projected fifth place in 2026/27. The rapid expansion of Black Sea wheat exports, driven by improved productivity and export infrastructure, has r...
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.