Deep Bench to Fight RFKBeing the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture is usually a pretty good job. It involves doling out billions of dollars, the constituency is dominated by courteous country people, and controversies tend to be minor. The person serving the longest in any Cabinet position was James “Tama Jim” Wilson at USDA for 16 years. Current USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack will have served in the position for 12 years. Henry A. Wallace served as USDA chief for eight years before being elevated to Vice President. Officially, the position is mid-tier in the presidential line of succession. But it is technically oriented, and the weakest secretaries have been those ill-suited to the job. Per Dave Juday’s discussion of who might be the next US...
Macro: Trade Flows Set the Tone Persian Gulf crude flows appear to be improving, with anecdotal estimates suggesting as much as 7–8 million barrels per day may now be leaving the region — nearly double the mid-July pace. That helps explain why crude has not maintained the full geopo...
Key Takeaways: The Panama Canal traded at a record $5.3 million for a transit slot this week as line-up times extend to 17 days. The difficulties transiting the Canal are supporting the PNW/Gulf spread. Tanker freight markets remain elevated as the blockade in the Strait of Hormuz continues. I...
Key Takeaways: Ethanol margins continue to retreat from recent highs as rising costs – particularly corn and natural gas – offset gains in ethanol and DDGS values. WPI’s models expect ethanol margins to broadly follow their seasonal pattern, declining into the new year,...
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.