News Updates AFRICA COMMENTS The Kenyan government has decided to import maize into government-held strategic stocks to ensure that the supply in the country is adequate. The government projects it will import 700,000 90-kilogram bags of grain in September. Imports will be from members of the East African Community.The Food Reserve Agency (FRA), the main buyer of local corn in Zambia, reportedly is suffering from serious logistical issues this year, with the main problem being a severe shortage of grain bags. Maize farmers deliver their goods to local depots in bulk, but if there are no bags at the depots they will not accept any maize. As a result, farmers have been camping out at depots to protect their maize from theft. The government...
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.