The theme of the pandemic has been the need for reshoring and diversification of supply chains to strengthen future resilience from such black swan events. Europe has done a better job than the U.S. in diversifying its major sources of energy and yet it is now more burdened by the current spike in energy costs. It needs fossil fuels when the winds stop blowing, and it will need winds if the Russians stop the gas from flowing. Fossil fuels have been reliable for the U.S., but the country has under-invested in nuclear energy. Nuclear power emits no CO2, can be built on multiple small platforms to reduce the risk of major sabotage, is not dependent the vagaries of Mother Nature, and would diversify the energy supply. A science-based approach...
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.