Public Health COVID Deaths Fall to One Per Week, Lockdown Damage Deepens Through yesterday, data from Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Center indicate the trailing seven-day averages in China at 4,897 new COVID-19 cases and one related death. This marks the lowest rate for new cases since the end of the third week of February and the fewest deaths over a trailing seven-day period since the second week of February. Meanwhile, Shanghai’s lockdown is set to end next week, while Beijing’s is scheduled to continue for at least the next couple of weeks. Although this approach has reduced deaths and new cases, the use of QR codes and other artificial intelligence tools to track citizens combined with the sharp fall in economic activity has...
What You Need to Know Today: Markets got a surprise with a corn yield of 181.2 bushels/acre in the October WASDE, above the average estimate of 177.6 bushels/acre and up from USDA’s September estimate of 178.5 bushels/acre. Although stronger demand is expected to absorb some of the addit...
The USDA has lowered its 2026 red meat production forecasts slightly while forecasting a slight increase in broiler production. Beef is now projected at 24.802 billion pounds, 75 million pounds less than in September. Cow slaughter is expected to be up; however, this will be offset by lower ste...
From WPI Consulting
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.