Egg Layer Welfare Bill in Senate Farm Bill Mark A number of commodity groups reportedly were told that Senate Agriculture Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan) plans to include an egg layer welfare proposal in her mark for the Senate farm bill. This proposal is a joint effort of the United Egg Producers (UEP) and the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS), and it essentially would double the space allotted per laying hen. Most other livestock groups remain adamantly opposed to this because it sets the precedent for welfare-based production standards for livestock on farms.The UEP reached a compromise with the HSUS last year in order to stop the patchwork system of state-level animal welfare statutes. Since 1998, 21 sepa...
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.