It seems ironic that established government policy can have the opposite effect of its stated objectives. For example, the vast majority of congressional representatives who support ethanol probably consider themselves to be successful advocates of American agriculture and the family farm. Consider the following well-intentioned statement from Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) when he criticized a coalition that opposes the Federal government's ethanol mandate:"I think that what the group is really asking for is to have the grain farmers subsidize their livestock feed at $3 or $4, like they did or have been over a long period of time -- until two or three years ago when the price of grain got up, and I think they ought to be a little bit em...
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.