Decades ago, when wheat was king, WPI had many analysts keenly interested in wheat. Since then, corn became king and now soybeans jockey for top honors. Wheat is still important and filled with changing dynamics, none more notable than the rise of Black Sea wheat, and Russia in particular. Russia’s share of global wheat area has edged higher, rising from less than 10 percent in 2004 to 13 percent now. Due to improvements in yield, Russia’s share of global wheat production has increased from just over 6 percent in 2004 to 11.5 percent today. However, the real standout number is Russia’s share of wheat traded globally, which over that same period has gone from 9 percent to 24 percent. However, the overall global wheat...
What You Need to Know Today: Cattle futures extended their sharp selloff Friday as weakening cash cattle prices, deteriorating feedlot profitability, and reduced packer demand continued to weigh on the market. The inability of futures to sustain a rally following last week's bullish Cattle on...
Markets are getting into the Halloween spirit, handing out more tricks than treats. There has been some encouraging news, but it hasn’t been enough to slow the broader slide. Now buyers need to show up with something other than another “Charlie Brown” rock for the bag. Somethi...
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.