World Perspectives

Facebook Meat Math

A meme circulating on the internet, likely started by R-CALF, goes like this: Ok, a 1300-pound animal is bought for $0.95 per pound by the packers and 40 percent of the animal is waste, which leaves 780 pounds of meat. Now take that 780 pounds multiplied by the retail price of $7.79 per pound and the total value is $6,076.20! After deducting the original cost of the animal at $1,235.00, it becomes clear that the big four meat packers plus the retailers are making a whopping $4,841.20, which is four times what the rancher made for producing all that meat. Both the rancher and the consumer are getting screwed. This of course totally ignores the labor- and capital-intensive contributions of the packer and retailer in converting the animal in...

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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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