Sunday is the Easter holiday; traditionally it is a high point for lamb consumption and production increases leading into the holiday. But the last two weeks (i.e., the first two weeks of April) lamb slaughter was down about 12 percent from 2021 – when Easter fell on 4 April, two weeks earlier than this year. In other words, lamb slaughter was higher after Easter 2021 than it is pre-Easter 2022. Moreover, total production so far this year is down about 13.6 percent, or 5 million pounds though last Friday. However, despite declining production, consumption is rising. This is a trend; in 2021 lamb and beef were the only two proteins to see a per capita increase – and for lamb it was the second year in a row (albeit from a very sm...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
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.