Much like the U.S. historically, Brazil’s capacity to store its grain (wheat, coarse grains, rice, soybeans) output has been increasing with its production gains. According to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics, the number of silos being built is growing faster than bulk or flat warehouses. Other types of storage, including inflatable bag facilities, still comprise nearly 2 percent of the facilities. U.S. storage capacity is 113 percent of production but has slow growth. Because of its huge storage capacity, the U.S. has been considered the supplier of last resort. Over half of U.S. grain storage is on farms and the remainder at commercial operations. Brazilian storage capacity is at 64 percent of grain output...
The House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health held a hearing on legislative proposals concerning food regulation and oversight. The hearing was focused on a wide range of bills, in keeping with the Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) agenda, ranging from anti–plant-based dairy produc...
Decline of China Ag Import Market The media has focused on China’s self-sufficiency effort in agriculture and its implications. In a largely political statement, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer told Congress that the Trump Administration wants to broaden the agricultural imports...
The Middle East is said to be undergoing a transformation as economic priorities transcend security concerns. This is evidenced by diversification away from oil and the UAE’s departure from OPEC. Meanwhile, the Palestine issue has been deprioritized, and Iran has emerged as more destabili...
All eyes are shifting to the Senate following the House passage of a farm bill last Thursday. Senate Agriculture Committee Chair John Boozman (R-Arkansas) is targeting the end of May or early June for a bill markup. According to Boozman, the House “going ahead and passing something was re...
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.