Recent analysis of maize cereals and flour in Tanzania have shown very high levels of aflatoxin, but the government claims a different cause of the reported death and illness there. Meanwhile, DuPont’s Pioneer seed division has announced it is expanding one of its programs to that country. Regional Updates MIDDLE EAST/MEDITERRANEAN COMMENTS During the current year, close to 80 percent of Ukraine’s soybean exports have been purchased by Egypt, Turkey, Iran and Lebanon. With that country expected to export about 2.3 MMT in 2016/17, just over 1.9 MMT of the total will go to the Middle East and Africa if the past export pattern continues. In addition, 100,000 MT of Ukraine’s projected 300,000 MT of soymeal exports for the same year are likel...
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.