World Perspectives

Common Thread: Prices Make Grain

There is an old cliché to the effect that "rain makes grain." The truth of this cannot be disputed. Adequate and timely rainfall is essential to the development of any field crop. Temperature patterns are very important as well, but crops can be grown under a variety of temperature circumstances as long as there are adequate and timely rains. However, we argue that there is another factor necessary to crop production that is even more important than rainfall: land. It goes without saying that the amount of land planted to any field crop is key to final production totals. Rain does not determine the amount of land on which farmers may intend to plant crops. Weeks of excessive rainfall may force farmers to reduce the amount of land they eve...

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Competing Manufacturing Data

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feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

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feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Recent Market Volatility Increases Futures Mispricing

Following the recent shocks to the grain markets – the Grain Stocks report data and news that soybeans will be on the negotiating table when Presidents Trump and Xi meet next – many are wondering what happens next as far as commodity pricing goes. WPI certainly doesn’t have a...

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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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