The overall economy is ready for a federal funds rate hike, which will be an impact on farm income that is already down with crop prices and debt that is starting to rise again.he Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FMOC) meets tomorrow with much market speculation as to whether the federal funds rate will be increased. Its target rate was raised in December 2015 to 0.25-0.50 percent from 0.00-0.25, which had been in place since 2008. That was the first increase since 2006, and the expectation last December was that the Fed would again raise rates by a similar amount two-four times in 2016. This has not occurred to date, but tomorrow’s meeting is one of three left for the year with the others scheduled for 1-2 November and 13-1...
What You Need to Know Today: After a period of limited activity, USDA reported a sizeable 613 KMT in soybean export sales, including 330 KMT to China and 283 KMT to unknown destinations, potentially also China. The purchases represent a meaningful pickup in demand and bring China closer to ful...
Key Takeaways: Consumer spending is a key driver of the U.S. economy, and the latest retail sales data indicate that spending remains robust despite inflation. In September, total retail and food service sales rose more than 6 percent year-over-year, with food service spending up 7 percent and...
The Trump import plan for 300,000 MT of beef supplies used for ground beef, i.e., lean trim, from September through November has, according to Secretary Brooke Rollins, brought some relief to beef prices. The Executive Order states that the Secretary of Agriculture will analyze and review the m...
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.