It was a status quo election from the standpoint of political control in Washington, but that does not mean that things stand still or can now move forward. There are many nuances to how policy will play out, or not, in the year ahead before the 2014 midterm elections.Economy and Fiscal Cliff: The number one issue confronting everyone is the Budget Control Act of 2011, also known as the "fiscal cliff." That is what sent the Dow Jones tumbling over 300 points the day after the election. Lacking an agreement between the White House and the Congress, the country is scheduled for deep spending cuts and large tax increases in 2013 that are predicted by some economists to send the U.S. back into recession. Ironically, a Romney presidency might...
What You Need to Know Today: U.S. weather is getting more attention this week as conditions vary greatly across the western, central, and eastern corn belts, with the different regions battling dryness and too much rain simultaneously. The ProFarmer Crop Tour began today in Indiana and Nebrask...
Unlike the 2022 fertilizer shock, today’s disruption is rooted less in rerouted trade flows and more in damaged production capacity, raw material constraints and uncertain recovery timelines. That makes this a longer-duration risk for U.S. agricultural producers and retailers who must sec...
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.