Tale of Two Stories The U.S.-China bilateral meeting is reportedly back on, assuming President Trump does not interfere again. He doesn’t want to talk to Beijing due to ongoing anger over COVID-19. However, USTR Robert Lighthizer gave China cover this week in discussing the Phase One commodity purchases. He said they have done the best they can considering the circumstances (e.g. COVID-hit economy), and they have made a record amount of agricultural purchases. That is actually quite generous considering two things: 1) Chinese consumer demand for pork and concurrently feed demand means they could be buying more pork and corn than they are; and 2) Beijing will be on the offensive over Washington’s assault on its technology compan...
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.