As of this writing, there is no word from the two-day U.S./China trade meeting that should be about to wrap up. No one expects an agreement to suspend hostilities, but the two sides will hopefully agree to more talks. That the tit-for-tat tariffs on $16 billion worth of goods, part of the first $50 billion announced, went into effect as scheduled today does not help. China has reported another incidence of African swine fever in a different part of the country than the other outbreaks, indicating the disease is on the move. This is a virulent disease, usually fatal to hogs, for which there is no known cure or vaccine. Unless strong steps are taken to stop its spread, it could threaten a significant portion of China’s huge hog populat...
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.