World Perspectives

Capital Investment and Productivity

While much of the focus on Europe relates to political instability in the EU, and threats from Russia, there are ample economic issues that also need to be addressed. This is true in both industrial production and agricultural output. European farms continue to lag their American counterparts in total factor productivity due to less R&D spending, slower technology uptake, smaller farm sizes, and regulatory burdens. The latter, including the Green Deal and Farm to Fork prompted a political revolt by farmers that is still reverberating across the Continent.  But European industrial production is similarly burdened. McKinsey studied EU investment and productivity and found large deficiencies. U.S. investment in intellectual property...

Related Articles

GI Chimera; Catch Bees with Honey; AI My Eye

GI Chimera The EU-Mercosur trade agreement has hit another stumbling block after the European Parliament asked the EU’s high court to first assess the text for its legality. Once that exercise is complete, Europe’s politicians promise plenty more hurdles to stymie agricultural impor...

FOB Prices and Freight Rates App (Updated 21 January)

WPI Grain Prices and Freight Rate App Note: you can also visit the app directly by clicking here. Supplemental Information The section below offers a concise view of the options available in the current version of the WPI FOB Price and Freight Rate app, along with a short “How To”...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Greenland Tweets Sink Macroeconomic Markets, CBOT and Ags Follow

The CBOT started off in risk-off mode Tuesday as rising U.S./EU tensions and odd dynamics in global macroeconomic markets (the rally in Japanese bond yields, in particular) unnerved investors.  The biggest driver of the risk-off trade was President Trump’s continued – and appar...

GI Chimera; Catch Bees with Honey; AI My Eye

GI Chimera The EU-Mercosur trade agreement has hit another stumbling block after the European Parliament asked the EU’s high court to first assess the text for its legality. Once that exercise is complete, Europe’s politicians promise plenty more hurdles to stymie agricultural impor...

FOB Prices and Freight Rates App (Updated 21 January)

WPI Grain Prices and Freight Rate App Note: you can also visit the app directly by clicking here. Supplemental Information The section below offers a concise view of the options available in the current version of the WPI FOB Price and Freight Rate app, along with a short “How To”...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Greenland Tweets Sink Macroeconomic Markets, CBOT and Ags Follow

The CBOT started off in risk-off mode Tuesday as rising U.S./EU tensions and odd dynamics in global macroeconomic markets (the rally in Japanese bond yields, in particular) unnerved investors.  The biggest driver of the risk-off trade was President Trump’s continued – and appar...

China Market Analysis

Economy and Diet The decline in China’s population, with the birthrate falling 17 percent to its lowest since 1949, is likely having some impact on total food consumption. Slower-than-reported economic growth may also be a factor, as 2025 saw lower agricultural prices and fewer imports. M...

Image
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.

Search World Perspectives

Sign In to World Perspectives

Don’t have an account yet? Sign Up