There was a lot of activity last week in preparation for the upcoming United Nations climate meeting to be held in Glasgow, including a new U.S.-EU methane reduction agreement outline and a discussion among the G20 ag ministers about climate and ag policies. First, on Saturday, the U.S. and EU announced the Global Methane Pledge, which covers abatement and mitigation efforts for oil and gas, coal, landfills, and of course, agriculture, specifically animal ag. The pledge has a collective goal of reducing global methane emissions by 2030 by at least 30 percent from a 2020 baseline level, through “additional domestic methane reduction and international cooperative actions.” The best news is that the efforts do not include reducing...
What You Need to Know Today: The corn and soybean markets closed slightly higher in low-volume trade. The wheat market was mixed, with HRW continuing its downward trek on improved moisture. As expected, the bearish cattle on feed report drove down cattle prices and pulled hogs down with it. Mi...
Monday, 25 May is a U.S. holiday, and both the markets and our office will be closed. Please note that the next issue of Ag Perspectives will be published on Tuesday, 26 May. The WPI staff wishes everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend...
USDA’s monthly cattle on feed report was released today. The total number of cattle on feed in feedlots with 1,000 head or more capacity amounted to 11.6 million head, 102 percent of last year. Source: USDA, WPI Placements were up, but part of that is attributable to persistent drought c...
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.