There is a contagion in the markets that is likely worse than the actual coronavirus, and that is fear of the coronavirus. Or at least the unknowns about the disease and its future path. One market advisory warns that global disease issues will define 2020 demand, or at least that is what is being said right now. Let’s keep with the facts: the coronavirus has a mortality rate right now that is higher than the conventional flu, but far lower than the SARS rate nearly two decades ago. Moreover, its relative rate is declining as the number of known infections has been growing faster than the death rate. Both infection rates and mortality will be lower in rich countries due to better health and control systems. A student at Arizona...
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.