USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack this week complained that he could not change the Country of Origin Labeling (COOL) regulation so that it concurrently reflects requirements of an adverse ruling by the WTO dispute settlement panel and adheres to U.S. law. More Ethanol Fallout Fallout from today's U.S. EPA non-announcement regarding the required 2014 biofuel use requirement (see WPI Special Report 21 November) continued to rattle all day long. Some have called for legislation that would "Implement automatic consequences if EPA fails to meet statutory deadlines, especially for setting the annual volumes." The takeaway from others (opponents) was to conclude that a mandate isn't even necessary since the industry did quite well on its own. One iron...
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.