2018: Hot or Not Where one spends precious time is important to both the individual and those wanting some of that person’s time. A review of the readership of this analyst’s policy rantings during 2018 indicates perhaps they were too much of just that: repetitious shouting that, like the mass media, gets a bit boring over time. There was greater attention to alternative views of current events. It was rewarding to hear from one kind reader in Europe that “we may not agree with all that comes out of USA but the way you ensure we are informed is deeply appreciated.” Some easy predictions were made, such as the outcome of the 2018 U.S. midterm elections and a U.S. government shutdown that is about to start. Looking b...
What You Need to Know Today: Commodities were mostly lower across the board today after yesterday’s Federal Reserve meeting hinted at a potential interest rate hike later in 2026. The dollar index reached its highest level in over a year, and a strong dollar makes U.S. agricultural expor...
Tomorrow is the Juneteenth federal holiday, and the USDA, along with the rest of the federal government and the CME, will be closed, so the monthly Cattle on Feed report was released a day early. The total number of cattle on feed in feedlots with 1,000 head or more capacity on 1 June amounted...
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.