Recognizing that the National Organic Standards Board (NOAB) has become dominated by marketing decisions, the National Farmers Union has made a request to USDA regarding a majority of the decision-making seats. USDA Joins Hucksters USDA has decided it will facilitate the marketing of "certified" non-GMO products. Technically, marketers can label their products as non-GMO without the USDA imprimatur of its truthfulness. Like many other marketing assertions, this leaves the seller at commercial and legal risk for any erroneous claim. Since foods without GMOs offer no real benefit to the consumer over those containing them, USDA's decision now makes it an abettor to what can only be construed as market huckstering to exploit unearned profits...
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.