World Perspectives

Name Calling One; Name Calling Two; China’s Self-Limitations; Value of Imports; Traitor to the Cause

Name Calling One Slammed by the lower cost of related catfish subspecies imported from Vietnam and China, U.S. catfish farmers have tried various approaches to reduce the competition. They threw AD/CVD duties at the imported fish, they lobbied the government to prevent the imported fish from being called catfish, they disparaged the imported fish by saying it was raised with chemicals and was less safe to eat, and they changed the name of their own prime catfish filets to Delicata. But their (hoped for) final action was to switch the government inspection agencies for both domestic and imported product to USDA from FDA, since the latter was perceived as less stringent.  But alas, five years after USDA inspectors took over the task, t...

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WPI Crop Progress and Conditions App (Updated 24 November)

Update for 28 April 2025: Last year, users pointed out differences between the 5-year averages reported in this app and what USDA estimates in its weekly report. The difference exists because WPI calculates average based on the last 5 years of observations for the current week. In cases where o...

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Summary of Futures

Dec 25 Corn closed at $4.2375/bushel, down $0.0175 from yesterday's close.  Mar 26 Wheat closed at $5.3475/bushel, down $0.05 from yesterday's close.  Jan 26 Soybeans closed at $11.2325/bushel, down $0.0175 from yesterday's close.  Jan 26 Soymeal closed at $318.3/short ton, down...

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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.

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