Overwrought Iron President Trump announced today that he would be imposing protective duties on imports of steel (25 percent) and aluminum (10 percent). The Twitteria reacted with scorn, calling them “heavy” duties, and the Washington Post’s Jennifer Rubin warned that if “Trump starts a trade war, any recession will be on him.” Perhaps, but some balanced perspective is needed. First, Trump is not the first president to fulfill a campaign promise and impose punitive duties on steel imports. George W. Bush did likewise in 2002. Like Trump, he said they would be imposed for a long time. After a WTO dispute settlement panel ruled them illegal because there had been no surge in steel imports, though, Bush withdrew...
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.