Interstate Pig Rivalry Farmers receive some state-level protections from NIMBYism (not in my backyard) in that someone cannot generally move next to a farm and then complain about odors. However, what about a new pig farm opening next door to a pre-existing landowner? Federal courts have been ruling in favor of the latter. U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) ought to be sympathetic to the farmers since he represents a farm state, but the lawsuits have been in North Carolina, the number two pig-producing state competing with his number one producing state of Iowa. He believes it is a state-level issue. Meanwhile, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte (R-Virginia) represents his state’s livestoc...
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.