The concept of holding stocks of grain that can be used during times of need has a nice humanitarian ring to it. It only becomes a good deal less appealing when one begins to sort out the realities of what this actually involves.In yesterday’s (11 May) Ag Perspectives, Gary Blumenthal remarked about the WTO ministerial decision to craft a rule that would allow national governments to accumulate and hold stocks of grain for purposes of food security. He noted that some countries that export agricultural commodities were open to consideration of such a rule as long as the accumulated grain stocks did not contribute to exports. Those comments started us thinking about stockholding and food security, an old concept that re-emerges in different...
What You Need to Know Today: Chinese purchases of U.S. soybeans continued to accelerate, with USDA reporting another 558 KMT sold to China and 236 KMT to unknown destinations. Combined with sales announced Wednesday and Thursday, the latest purchases bring the three-day total to approximately...
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.