It is easy to tell that the farm bill is right around the corner because all the anti-farm program think tanks are suddenly engaging in the policy debate.Next week an invitation-only policy confab is being convened to criticize crop supports, export promotion programs and crop insurance. Moreover, its coalition of sponsors can say with some accuracy that they span the policy spectrum. The U.S. Public Interest Research Group (PIRG), a more-to-the-left policy organization, has joined forces with a number of groups positioned right of center on policy matters, including The R Street Institute, National Taxpayers Union, Taxpayers for Common Sense, The Heritage Foundation, Heartland Institute, Citizens Against Government Waste, Club for Growth a...
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.