U.S. aggies give Canada's Harper government a lot of credit for ending the Canadian Wheat Board (now officially CWB) monopoly over grain marketing, but they now want to see the Great North's dairy, poultry and egg supply management schemes de-monopolized as part of its entry into the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Canadian Trade Minister Ed Fast visited Washington this week to drum up support for his country joining the TPP negotiations but gave no more assurance than "everything is on the negotiating table" and there can be no pre-conditions. In essence, each negotiator's defensive positions are bargaining chips. His most reassuring angle is that Canada sees the future being a "North American production platform," and "Canada needs to contin...
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.