The recent Institute for Supply Management (ISM) reports indicate growth, although slow, for the economy overall. There is still considerable pressure on the ag and food sector, indicated by the concerns about inventories noted at the food service level.The service sector economy continued to grow in August, but it did so at a slower pace. According to the Institute for Supply Management (ISM), a Non-Manufacturing Index (NMI) greater than 50 percent signifies that sector’s economy is generally expanding and one below 50 percent indicates it is generally contracting. The NMI for August was 51.4 percent, down considerably from 55.5 percent in July, although it was the 79th consecutive month of overall expansion. Along with the NMI repor...
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.