Next month is the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition and Health and there are a lot of nutrition problems in America to solve. The country is fat, unhealthy, and there are no easy solutions. Yesterday, a task force designed to tee up ideas for solving the crisis released 30 of them. Some are good, some meaningless, and some are oddball pipedreams. The report claims to propose “a far-reaching, consensus-based strategy that reflects a diverse set of perspectives from leaders across academia, civil society, government, and the private sector.” However, some may question the diversity of views. For example, the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) whose members produce most of the food is not only missing from the Task F...
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.