Politics Turning a Pandemic Into a Man-Made Political Disaster With global novel coronavirus cases surpassing 5.6 million and total deaths rising to just over 350,000, three of the world’s most important agricultural producers continue to bumble their handling of the policy responses both politically and economically. The leaders of Brazil, China, and the United States, three countries essential to staving off a global food shortage and helping to revive the global economy through a reinvigorated approach to trade, are seemingly trying to reprise the Three Stooges, although this time the televised affair has hardly anyone laughing at the punchlines. In Brazil, where President Bolsonaro refers to the pandemic as a &ldquo...
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.