World Perspectives

Meat Needs Work, Know Cheese, Not Europe, Can’t Beat ‘em, Join ‘em

Meat Needs Work The U.S. meat industry is feeling good because demand for its product remains strong. Inflation and economic doubts have shoppers economizing on where they buy and the form it is in, but not the fundamental product. However, animal welfare activists are stepping up their game and using increasingly sophisticated approaches to create consumer distrust and aspirations for sector improvements. Just 52 percent of consumers think the industry’s animal welfare efforts are “good.” Economist Daniel Sumner thinks the industry needs more transparency, needs to better understand the consumer’s willingness to pay for attributes, and ponders whether a federal overlay of animal welfare requirements is needed since...

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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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