A little “water cooler” office conversation (albeit conducted electronically) at WPI this week centered on handicapping the North Dakota Senate race now that at-large Republican Representative Kevin Cramer is apparently about to throw his hat in the ring against incumbent Democratic Senator Heidi Heitkamp in her re-election bid. Cramer is expected to announce his candidacy today in Bismarck. First, a little context. If President Trump has a favorite Democrat (other than his former self before he switched parties), it is Heidi Heitkamp. He pulled her onstage at an event in Mandan and referred to her as “good woman” while stumping in the state for the Republican tax reform bill. Trump also reportedly seriously conside...
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.