Numerillogical at the Top There are problems in the agricultural data field, but its quantity and quality do improve over time. Meanwhile, decisions at the policy level repeatedly reflect a lack of understanding about what is available -- and what it all means. The Genetic Modification Debate Goes On Of all of the emotional issues that have arisen in recent years surrounding agriculture, the one that has by far generated the most emotion and controversy stems from biogenetic engineering of crops that directly or indirectly enter the human food chain. New Avian Flu Threatens Chinese Soy Demand The H7N9 outbreak has caused Chinese broiler meat consumption to decline. There are concerns that the avian influenza strain will mutate and spr...
What You Need to Know Today: Corn and soybeans were under heavy selling pressure as weaker (or at least as-expected) export demand runs into an accelerating harvest pace with more grain available in the spot market. Corn and soybean harvest progress remains below average across the U.S., espec...
Key Takeaways: Brazil confirmed a Newcastle disease outbreak at a commercial turkey farm in Santa Catarina on 18 October, raising concerns about potential disruptions to poultry exports despite the outbreak being confined to a single facility thus far. Mexico and Malaysia have imposed nationwi...
Yesterday, Alberta held a referendum on whether to begin the process toward independence from Canada. With more than one million votes counted as of early Tuesday morning, around 77 percent supported remaining in Canada, and 23 percent voted to start the process of separation, according to unof...
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.