Owning the Deal In usual trade negotiations, a U.S. president’s subordinates negotiate, and when there is agreement, it is brought to the leader for concurrence. President Trump has announced that bilateral negotiations with China may now extend beyond the deadline, and “No final deal will be made until my friend President Xi, and I meet, in the near future to discuss and agree on some of the long standing and more complex issues.” This has likely been greeted with great appeal by the Chinese since they are more confident of coopting the vain Mr. Trump than his hardened subordinates like USTR Lighthizer. Separately, China advisor Robert Kuhn notes the irony of Washington pushing for reforms by Beijing that will help the...
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.