Setting the 2013 renewable volume obligations (RVOs) under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) was not the only ethanol-related policy update the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) undertook last week. The EPA also issued new rules on Renewable Identification Number (RIN) fraud in the biodiesel sector.The RFS requires gasoline and diesel refiners, blenders and importers to purchase RINs representing volumes of renewable fuel they must blend each year. The RINs are a compliance credit. In providing oversight, EPA has taken a caveat emptor type of approach in that EPA has fined diesel fuel refiners and importers for using RINs that were fraudulently generated by companies that did not actually produce any renewable fuel. EPA also has requi...
Yesterday, Alberta held a referendum on whether to begin the process toward independence from Canada. With more than one million votes counted as of early Tuesday morning, around 77 percent supported remaining in Canada, and 23 percent voted to start the process of separation, according to unof...
Key Takeaways: India is excluding sugarcane juice, sugar syrup, and B-heavy molasses from its 2026/27 fuel ethanol procurement program to protect domestic sugar supplies, potentially shifting additional demand toward corn and rice. India’s corn consumption for ethanol has surged from jus...
Last week, September inflation reports showed that the Producer Price Index rose 1.3 percent, far ahead of the 0.6 percent consensus expectation, while the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.6 percent, in line with expectations. However, September also marked the 66th consecutive month that both...
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.