Vice President Kamala Harris has picked Minnesota Governor Tim Walz as her running mate a week before the Democrat National Convention in Chicago. Walz is in his second term as Governor, first elected in 2018, and before that he was a six-term Congressman and member of the House Agriculture Committee from the rural 1st Congressional District, covering Mankato and Rochester, and spanning across the southern part of the state bordering Iowa. He won that seat defeating then-Representative Gil Gutknecht, also a member of the House Agriculture Committee. The district is traditionally Republican; in the Presidential race it was won by Bush in 2000 and 2004, Obama in 2008 and 2012, and by Trump in 2016 and 2020. Since Walz left to run...
What You Need to Know Today: Markets got a surprise with a corn yield of 181.2 bushels/acre in the October WASDE, above the average estimate of 177.6 bushels/acre and up from USDA’s September estimate of 178.5 bushels/acre. Although stronger demand is expected to absorb some of the addit...
Key Takeaways: On Friday afternoon, President Trump announced that Russia will “immediately supply over 300,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel” to the United States. The deal, typical of this administration, is light on details but promises an additional 500,000 tons in November and 1 m...
The USDA has lowered its 2026 red meat production forecasts slightly while forecasting a slight increase in broiler production. Beef is now projected at 24.802 billion pounds, 75 million pounds less than in September. Cow slaughter is expected to be up; however, this will be offset by lower ste...
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.