OECD Ag Statement Thirty-eight agriculture ministers from OECD member countries plus a dozen or so more will meet later this week in Paris to discuss: Building Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems in a Changing Environment: Shared Challenges, Transformative Solutions. The discussion precedes the COP27 meeting, and ministers are likely to emphasize how agriculture contributes to sustainability, and how it is hurt by climate change. Most of the non-OECD countries will be looking for cash transfers from the richer countries to help their agriculture sectors. All of it is “non-binding.” Meanwhile, the meeting will likely blast Russia for worsening global food insecurity by invading Ukraine, and highlight the adverse impacts f...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
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.