Regulatory Precaution: Europe and Japan are providing plenty of policy lessons for officials governing other countries. The Washington Post notes how government bureaucracy is stifling economic progress in Europe. It reports that France's economy is stifled by 400,000 norms or regulations, and the horsemeat scandal likely only adds to the burden. Many government requirements respond to a public that is averse to any and all of life's risks. However, Alain Lambert, head of the government's Consultative Commission on Evaluation of Norms, says that his country "must temper the principle of precaution" if it is to achieve economic growth. Meanwhile, the government of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reportedly has its 'third arrow' goal of...
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.