U.S. EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler is accustomed to attacks from environmentalists, but attacks by farmers over the agency’s small refinery exemptions (SREs) from the ethanol blend requirement has exposed the soft underbelly of the Trump administration. The number of waivers has increased under this presidency at the same time the rural vote is considered a key to the 2020 battle for the White House. Sensing the problem, President Trump has reportedly ordered his troops to find a way to placate farmers. Earlier analysis by the Food and Agriculture Policy Research Institute indicated that the waivers could cause the domestic ethanol industry to lose 4.6 billion gallons in demand with a value of almost $20 billion over six years; th...
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.