Erroneous Focus The progressive left is emphasizing their dislike for the choice of Tom Vilsack for USDA secretary. Arguing he is too cozy with Big Ag and consequently anti-small farmer and he will do too little to fix the environment. This reflects the lack of proper focus by activists. The biggest problem in the food system is not at the production level but with consumption. If social activists were concerned about their fellow human beings, they would turn their attention toward fixing the people doing the buying instead of those doing the growing. Americans on average over-consume calories by 86 percent. It is easier to blame Big Ag but McDonald’s would not exist if customers did not demand convenient and inexpensive food...
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.