India's sugar sector continues to suffer from low prices against the cost of production. Little change is expected unless the government of India (GOI) provides an incentive to boost ethanol production and ensures that the mandated blend rate to gasoline is met. Poor Outlook for Sugar Sector Without Ethanol Production Incentive Farmers want a higher price for their sugarcane as their costs to produce the crop have increased. According to those in Andhra Pradesh, the cost of production is currently $70/MT. If the M S Swaninathan panel recommendation regarding the Minimum Support Price (MSP) is implemented, the payments that farmers receive must be 50 percent over and above the cost of production. That would push sugarcane's State Advisory...
The corn and soy complex closed higher, with the wheat market mixed, as winter wheat closed up but spring wheat and livestock ended lower. Part of the strength for corn and soybeans may have been a weather premium, as crop planting has started out fast but warm weather has been slow to develop...
Reflect for a moment on what you eat. There is a lot of advice out there in the ether about what you should eat, but really, what do you currently eat and how much? The good people at the USDA have some data for you, to help you answer that question. USDA says that we eat quite a bit of meat. L...
WPI recently completed an expansion of our methodology for estimating and forecasting U.S. and global soybean crushing margins. The new approach incorporates the energy market’s expanding influence on the oilseed sector and the structural changes in global biofuel demand. This report is i...
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.