Since the topic is forever ongoing, we sometimes tire of discussing the roles that speculators play in markets and in politics. We are sure that clients are also tired of our discussions. However, the topic will not die, and in fact it takes on new life during a presidential election year. That was certainly the case in 2008 when prices for food and gasoline were rising, and more of the same is promised for 2012 with gasoline flirting with $4.00 per gallon at the pump and food prices again on the rise.Republicans have been hammering President Obama over high gasoline prices and his rejection of the Keystone pipeline plus the limitations his administration has placed on new drilling for oil offshore and in the Arctic. A politically neutral...
Beef packer margins deteriorated to $141/head last week, down $55 from the prior week as fed cattle prices strengthened while the Choice cutout remained nearly unchanged. The cutout held near $373/cwt while fed cattle prices climbed $4/cwt to $224/cwt, narrowing processor profits. Despite the d...
What You Need to Know Today: Corn and soybeans were under heavy selling pressure as weaker (or at least as-expected) export demand runs into an accelerating harvest pace with more grain available in the spot market. Corn and soybean harvest progress remains below average across the U.S., espec...
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.