A growing debate in ag policy is USDA’s use of the broader authorities of the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC) to implement and carry out ag policy. Yesterday, Secretary Vilsack announced that $1 billion would be spent on “climate smart” agriculture policy through grants to entities that create programs to incentivize producers to adopt production and marketing practices that are climate smart. The Secretary said that the grants, funded by the CCC, will work in tandem with the farm bill, and thus compliment farm bill programs and USDA’s climate strategy. Senator Roger Marshal (R-Kansas) had a different take on the complementarity angle – he says CCC funds are being used to override th...
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.