Technology Ignores Regulators Perhaps as expected, EU member states failed to agree to the latest compromise language on allowing the development of new genomic techniques. Meanwhile, researchers at the University of Sydney have developed a gene editing tool, seekRNA, that could provide higher accuracy and flexibility than CRISPR. A similar dynamic will play out in AI where governments will seek to control it, and especially delay its progress in competing countries, but progress does not wait for politicians. Two Records in One Year U.S. net farm income (adjusted for inflation) will drop to $116.1 billion in 2024, the largest single year percentage drop in income ever. The U.S. agricultural trade deficit will top a record $32 billion.&n...
Beef packer margins improved to -$130/head last week, up $44 from the prior week as sharply lower fed cattle prices more than offset continued seasonal weakness in the Choice cutout. The cutout declined to $373/cwt while fed cattle prices fell to $238/cwt, allowing packer spreads to recover for...
What You Need to Know Today: The conflict between the U.S. and Iran continues to escalate with the two sides exchanging attacks over the weekend. President Trump said Iran “will pay” for recent attacks that claimed the lives of U.S. troops stationed in Jordan. There are some signs...
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.