Yesterday’s Minneapolis StarTribune newspaper had a story headlined, “Herbicide found in Cheerios reignites debate on food safety” (click here), which followed a document released by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) that said it had tested 28 food products containing oats and found trace amounts of glyphosate in all but two. Glyphosate’s trade name is Roundup, a product used for weed control and an indiscriminate killer of any plant that doesn’t contain the Roundup-ready gene. It is usually associated with GM corn and soybean varieties that are tolerant of the herbicide. Glyphosate is also used as a desiccant and can be applied to mature crops to speed dry-down, allowing harvest to start earlier. This has...
What You Need to Know Today: After a period of limited activity, USDA reported a sizeable 613 KMT in soybean export sales, including 330 KMT to China and 283 KMT to unknown destinations, potentially also China. The purchases represent a meaningful pickup in demand and bring China closer to ful...
Key Takeaways: Consumer spending is a key driver of the U.S. economy, and the latest retail sales data indicate that spending remains robust despite inflation. In September, total retail and food service sales rose more than 6 percent year-over-year, with food service spending up 7 percent and...
The Trump import plan for 300,000 MT of beef supplies used for ground beef, i.e., lean trim, from September through November has, according to Secretary Brooke Rollins, brought some relief to beef prices. The Executive Order states that the Secretary of Agriculture will analyze and review the m...
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.