Although several crops are at risk due to the drought in southern China, rice is said to be the most at risk. This is because almost half the country’s rice crop is produced in the six provinces being impacted (Sichuan, Chongqing, Hubei, Henan, Jiangxi and Anhui). Some call it a severe challenge. One advisory firm warns that its vegetative health index for the affected region “is at the lowest level in more than two decades.” Rice is a water intensive crop and soil moisture levels are said to be at a 12-year low. Still, others say crop production will not be severely impacted. Li Guoxiang of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences told the Global Times that the places where it will be felt most strongly are in the mo...
Free Trade to State Direction Conceptually, American farmers are huge winners under a free trade policy promising fair and equitable terms. As critics of President Trump’s trade wars will be quick to point out, “U.S. farmers have been some of the biggest beneficiaries of U.S...
Key Takeaways: Soyoil futures have been trading at the highest levels since 2022. Higher crude oil prices have allowed biofuels to be more cost-competitive with fossil fuels. Recent U.S. biofuel policy, including 45Z, has been favorable toward soyoil as a feedstock. California will be limiting...
There has been more analysis of the Trump-Xi meeting last week than decades worth of papers written on the fall of Rome and the assassination of JFK. Optimists highlight the pageantry and showmanship; pessimists complain nothing major was accomplished. The divergence of the official assessments...
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.