News Updates EGYPT COMMENTS There was a great deal of discussion this week regarding financing for Egypt, much of it in hopes of supporting the Egyptian pound as it drops lower against the U.S. dollar and the euro. The Islamic Development Bank announced the next tranche of the $388 million group of loan agreements, Qatar announced a $2 billion loan along with $500 million earmarked for currency support, and the European Union announced that it could provide Egypt with 5 billion euros in loans, grants and credit lines. All of this is in addition to the $4.8 billion expected from the IMF once the current negotiations can be finalized. There is still some doubt in world banking circles about Egypt's ability to make the economic changes neede...
What You Need to Know Today: U.S. weather is getting more attention this week as conditions vary greatly across the western, central, and eastern corn belts, with the different regions battling dryness and too much rain simultaneously. The ProFarmer Crop Tour began today in Indiana and Nebrask...
Key Takeaways: Argentina is on pace for a record corn crop and record exports in the current marketing year, with abundant supplies likely to keep the country highly competitive in global export markets. Argentina’s record exportable surplus is allowing it to offer highly competitive pri...
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.