It is easy to see the damage the policies of the Kirchner government have inflicted on the Argentine agricultural sector. The heretofore large export taxes starved it of capital. Most farmers have not been able to make the investments they need in equipment, fertilizers, conservation, agrichemical, and storage facilities.The first thing one learns when visiting Argentina is that farmers and others in the agricultural sector are suddenly very optimistic in the wake of the new export policies for agricultural commodities established by the government of President Mauricio Macri. No longer does this sector see the government as the enemy as they did under President Cristina Kirchner. Instead, it views the government as an ally. Farmers now hav...
What You Need to Know Today: Grain futures fell hard overnight after the USDA’s Crop Conditions report showed better-than-expected ratings for corn and soybeans, despite difficult weather last week. The Conditions report was even more bearish in light of meaningfully beneficial rains acr...
Key Takeaways: New Mexico’s Clean Transportation Fuel Program expands demand for low-carbon fuels and creates another market for renewable feedstocks, adding incremental pressure to already limited supplies of lower-carbon inputs. Growing competition for waste-based feedstocks such as an...
Mediterranean/Middle East/North Africa/Africa – MEA Region Pakistan has just held its first meeting of the Committee on GM Corn. The Committee was established to "undertake an objective, science-based, and evidence-driven review of Pakistan’s policy regarding the commercialization o...
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.