Farm Bill Issues: There are at least two issues bubbling up amidst the effort to reauthorize the U.S. farm bill: BOBSAT and dairy. With farmland values rising and crop production highly valuable, U.S. government determinations under the so-called "Swampbuster" rule, which governs the conversion of prior wetlands to crops, reportedly are "really heating up." If it boils over, the issue could get reopened in a 2013 farm bill. One description of how the government makes its determinations is "BOBSAT," or Bunch of Biologists Sitting Around a Table.The ability to move a farm bill in the House gets down to placating House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on dairy. He strongly opposes the effort by dairy farmers to use supply controls in order to b...
What You Need to Know Today: U.S. weather is getting more attention this week as conditions vary greatly across the western, central, and eastern corn belts, with the different regions battling dryness and too much rain simultaneously. The ProFarmer Crop Tour began today in Indiana and Nebrask...
Key Takeaways: Argentina is on pace for a record corn crop and record exports in the current marketing year, with abundant supplies likely to keep the country highly competitive in global export markets. Argentina’s record exportable surplus is allowing it to offer highly competitive pri...
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.