U.S. GDP is likely to grow for the first quarter (Q1) of 2013. The new number will be out on Friday, 26 April. Indeed, a number of market watchers have been anticipating the Q1 release. The current Wall Street Journal (WSJ) consensus forecast from economists (based on surveys during 5-9 April), for instance, anticipates 3.1 percent growth for Q1, up from 2.2 percent in WSJ's March survey. And the Conference Board's 10 April estimate has Q1 GDP growth at 3.5 percent, up sharply from 1.6 percent in its March 13 forecast. This rosy scenario is influenced by a number of factors: car sales are up, goods and services are up, business investment is up, home building is way up and inventories are up. Those are the basic components of GDP calculat...
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.