The media is abuzz over the recent uptick in American fast food chicken sandwich consumption and the resulting purported shortages. If there were a shortage, which is a bit of an overstatement, broiler meat is where you would want the problem to be. Whereas hogs require eight months to grow out and cattle two years, broilers mature in 16-24 weeks. This means that any need to ramp up production can be done in a relatively short timeframe. The U.S. produces over 9.2 billion broilers each year and thus no one is going to starve. It is true that foodservice demand is up at the same time that the supply of broilers available for slaughter is lower. However, the solution has already been put into place. Broiler margins are up 8 percent over a ye...
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.