It is reported that fewer than half of the maize plantings in South Africa have been completed due to the severe drought. With yellow maize prices up about 30 percent in recent days and 82 percent on the year, livestock farmers and dairy producers are warning that their meat, egg and dairy product prices will be increasing in coming weeks. Regional Updates MIDDLE EAST/MEDITERRANEAN COMMENTS Three vessels are said to be blocked at Dunkirk, France from loading about 60,000 MT of wheat (each) destined for Egypt due to delays in issuing letters of credit (L/Cs) by GASC. Two of the cargoes were for last-half December 2015 shipment. European traders say that the L/C problem should be resolved in the next week, but it is certainly of concern to...
What You Need to Know Today: Grain futures fell hard overnight after the USDA’s Crop Conditions report showed better-than-expected ratings for corn and soybeans, despite difficult weather last week. The Conditions report was even more bearish in light of meaningfully beneficial rains acr...
Key Takeaways: New Mexico’s Clean Transportation Fuel Program expands demand for low-carbon fuels and creates another market for renewable feedstocks, adding incremental pressure to already limited supplies of lower-carbon inputs. Growing competition for waste-based feedstocks such as an...
Mediterranean/Middle East/North Africa/Africa – MEA Region Pakistan has just held its first meeting of the Committee on GM Corn. The Committee was established to "undertake an objective, science-based, and evidence-driven review of Pakistan’s policy regarding the commercialization o...
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.