Mexico Produce Petition The U.S. Trade Representative’s office announced the correct decision in denying a Section 301 petition to investigate Mexico’s use of export targeting for fresh produce headed to the American market. U.S. produce farmers have long been at a competitive disadvantage to the Mexican counterparts who benefit from a more favorable climate in winter, plus cheaper land and labor costs. The U.S. government itself works with U.S. producers to target foreign markets for their products. What was noticeable was the apolitical nature of the response since the announcement included an industry appreciated commitment by USTR to establish a private sector advisory committee on the matter. The petition denial could have...
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.