After Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president at noon (EST) today, a team of temporary political appointees moved to fill a number of jobs in the new USDA.Donald Trump was sworn in as the 45th president of the United States today, ushering in a new administration in all agencies, including USDA. There are approximately 250 political appointees at USDA, and there will obviously be many desks to fill since President Trump just this week announced former Georgia Governor George “Sonny” Perdue as his choice to be its secretary.That process started this afternoon as the Trump transition deployed beachhead teams into the agencies. This model was developed by the Mitt Romney transition that never had a chance to deploy it. These teams will...
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.