Sonny Perdue’s confirmation hearing focused on budgets, crop insurance and trade, but it may still be some time before he’s finally confirmed and longer still before USDA is fully staffed.Last Thursday the Senate Agriculture Committee convened the confirmation hearing for Sonny Perdue to be secretary of agriculture, although it has not yet set a date for the confirmation vote. The controversy around Perdue’s business record has largely been settled. Ranking Member Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan) said to reporters, “He’s resolved issues on conflict of interest and has addressed other issues.” No questions on this topic were raised during the hearing.Perdue’s testimony was short on policy and long on biography; he left virtually all of the polic...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
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.