Tomorrow, 26 November, is the U.S. national Thanksgiving holiday, a day designed to emphasize blessings while getting together with family and friends for a celebratory meal. There have always been numerous celebrations of thanks by various countries, religions and other groups going back to early recorded history. The U.S. holiday dates back to 1601 when the Pilgrims who had settled the year before in what is now Massachusetts decided to celebrate their first successful harvest. In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln declared the last Thursday of November to be a national holiday for giving thanks. In 1939 President Roosevelt moved the holiday one week earlier to expand the Christmas shopping season in hopes that increased consumer spending w...
What You Need to Know Today: USDA reports are delayed until Tuesday due to the federal holiday on Monday. Over the weekend, President Trump announced a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine. Russia warmly welcomed and confirmed this ceasefire by conducting more strikes against Ukraine. Specific...
On Saturday, 10 October, at a campaign rally in Clarksville, Tennessee, President Trump said that the U.S. and Mexico would come to terms on a new trade deal, and he said Canada does not need to be part of the deal. Trump called the coming agreement with Mexico “great” but gave no d...
Key Takeaways: The United States has steadily lost global wheat export market share since the 1970s, falling from the world's leading exporter to a projected fifth place in 2026/27. The rapid expansion of Black Sea wheat exports, driven by improved productivity and export infrastructure, has r...
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.