Today are the Iowa caucuses for the Democratic presidential primary. Since 1972, Iowans have been the first state to weigh in on the presidential nominees through a series of 1,600 precinct level caucuses aggregated into state-wide results. Winning or doing well is often seen as a way to position a candidate for coming primaries. But the bottom line is, since the caucuses have been in existence, only three winners have become president (Jimmy Carter 1976, George W Bush 2000, Barrack Obama 2008). Over the years, there have been 10 Democratic caucuses, and the winner has been the party nominee seven times; there have been eight Republican caucuses and the winner has become the nominee only three times. In 2008, Republican eventual nominee Jo...
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.