Under the theory of economies of scale, the size of farms, like that of all industries, should increase over time due to improvements in productivity. Farmers themselves understand that the more land they farm, the greater their output and, thus, the larger their potential incomes. Government policies are highly intrusive in agriculture and can distort this dynamic. Often, the social goal is to keep more farmers employed, even at the cost of overall agricultural efficiency. The scale of farms in a country typically correlates with many other societal attributes. Because scale typically means cheaper food and, thus, a lower share of disposable income, societies with larger farms are usually wealthier and have more income for other sectors, s...
What You Need to Know Today: U.S. Treasury Secretary Bessent said Friday that the U.S. has seized $1b of Iranian crypto assets. Iran’s IGGC says 15 merchant vessels, including 4 oil tankers, have passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the past 24 hours. Managed money traders...
Developer's Note: Last year, users pointed out differences between the 5-year averages reported in this app and what USDA estimates in its weekly report. The difference exists because WPI calculates average based on the last 5 years of observations for the current week. In cases where obs...
Game of Chicken The U.S. and Mexico just completed an initial round of bilateral negotiations leading up to completing a joint review of the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement (USMCA). A second round is scheduled for June 16-17 in Washington and will include agriculture as a key agenda item. A third...
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.