Dairy producers are pushing back against a World Health Organization (WHO) proposal that would discourage what it terms “inappropriate” promotion of manufactured foods to infants and young children. Macroeconomic Conundrum Equities and oil benefited from the prospect of continued low interest rates, but Chicago was unimpressed. What to do about the global market is another matter altogether. Nobel Prize economist Joseph Stiglitz says the world is in a great “malaise,” a term fatefully used by a former U.S. president. Stiglitz uses his celebrity to now pitch political philosophy, and he advised his Japanese audience to avoid quantitative easing (QE) as it only worsened inequality in the U.S. - an assertion that is certainly damning of the...
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.