It has been said that commodities futures markets are zero-sum games, that someone’s gains are always offset by someone else’s losses. Whereas that may be narrowly true in theory, it certainly is not the case for the broader business of growing, handling, transporting, processing and exporting bulk commodities. Nor is it true when bulk commodities are transformed into consumer products. Like any economic activity, the commodity business is affected by influences that are good and those that are bad. They do not necessarily offset one another but do offer some balance to some extent. Following is an ad hoc list of some topics that offer good and bad influences over agribusinesses. The U.S.-China Trade Dispute The Good: China h...
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.