A fire broke out at JBS’ beef packing plant in Grand Island, Nebraska late Sunday night. The fire was reportedly caused by a boiler exploding in the rendering section of the plant. Local news reports cited the Grand Island Fire Department as saying the roof was on fire around 10 PM Sunday night. The Grand Island Fire Department’s twitter feed reported fourth and fifth alarms were issued by 12:28 AM Monday morning. JBS said on Facebook that “fabrication and slaughter A and B shift will not be working September 13, 2021”. The fire comes as JBS was investing nearly $100 million in to expand the plant’s capacity. The fire will likely be a major issue for the U.S. beef and cattle industry and WPI will c...
What You Need to Know Today: The corn and soybean markets closed slightly higher in low-volume trade. The wheat market was mixed, with HRW continuing its downward trek on improved moisture. As expected, the bearish cattle on feed report drove down cattle prices and pulled hogs down with it. Mi...
Monday, 25 May is a U.S. holiday, and both the markets and our office will be closed. Please note that the next issue of Ag Perspectives will be published on Tuesday, 26 May. The WPI staff wishes everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend...
USDA’s monthly cattle on feed report was released today. The total number of cattle on feed in feedlots with 1,000 head or more capacity amounted to 11.6 million head, 102 percent of last year. Source: USDA, WPI Placements were up, but part of that is attributable to persistent drought c...
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.