Regional Updates MIDDLE EAST/MEDITERRANEAN COMMENTS Egypt’s Ministry of Agriculture is making efforts to reduce the planting of major water-consuming crops such as wheat and rice by having farmers switch to other crops like quinoa, which is said to only need one tenth the amount needed by rice. It will not be easy to convince them to do so unless there is a market for their production as there is for wheat and rice. Egypt reports that local wheat purchases have now topped 1.8 MMT against the target of 4 MMT. It also says that excluding those stocks, the current wheat supply will be sufficient to cover consumption for four months. Iraqi officials report that local wheat purchases exceed 300,000 MT with the total projected to reach...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
We have described the long-term investment climate in crop and livestock production, using data primarily from the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). The data provided background on the current investment climate and outlook for agricultural capital formation. Our conclusion was that investment...
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.