Outlook for Negotiation Week China-U.S.: Chinese Vice Minister of Commerce Wang Shouwen meets with U.S. Treasury Under Secretary David Malpass in an effort to set a course for resolving the trade war. Treasury’s involvement may be related to the fact that the tariff war is causing macroeconomic concerns in Asia. However, Malpass also has the advantage of having previously served as the American lead at the National Committee on United States-China Relations. The two sides are unlikely to bridge the wide chasm, and there are fresh rounds of tariffs and retaliatory tariffs in the offing - a $16 billion tranche facing 25 percent tariffs this week and a much larger package next month after public hearings are completed this week in Wash...
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.