In addition to the Secretary of Agriculture and the U.S. Trade Representative, the Director of the Office and Management and Budget (OMB) is one of the most impactful cabinet level officials for U.S. agriculture. While there is still speculation about President-Elect Biden’s appointments for USDA and USTR, he has named his nominee for the OMB, Neera Tanden. She is currently the president of the think tank Center for American Progress (CAP). CAP’s self-described mission is to promote “… bold, progressive ideas” and it has already listed 250 actions for the first 100 days of the new Administration. OMB, in addition to overseeing and coordinating an administration's financial management, procurement, and informa...
What You Need to Know Today: President Trump claimed the ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran was over, as both sides accused one another of violating the terms of the agreement. Commercial vessels are increasingly steering clear of the Strait of Hormuz as security risks escalate following Iran...
Key Takeaways: The CME Group is launching new 90 percent Lean Beef and 50 percent Lean Beef futures and options contracts in July. There are five key factors that must be present in physical markets and futures contract specifications for futures contracts to become successful. The two l...
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.