World Perspectives

Cold, Hungry Winter

Europe is facing an energy crisis this coming winter and the food situation could be bad as well. This summer’s drought, reduced corn and sunflower oil imports from Ukraine, and the fact that energy prices are tied to food could make for an equally bad situation. This is exacerbated by the fact that caloric consumption increases in winter by around 86 kilocalories/day, depending on activity and the amount of shivering to keep warm.  An active life in a cold winter increases caloric needs by about 3.4 percent. Meanwhile, the average age of Europeans has been increasing with a fifth of the population now over 65 years of age. That has reduced overall average caloric intake by 0.05 percent.  ...

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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.

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