U.S. sorghum producers have long complained of playing second fiddle to corn. Although sorghum has lower production costs, only about 2.5 percent as much of it is produced as that of corn. In terms of value per acre, it grosses 30 percent as much per acre as corn. Once sorghum became eligible for conversion into ethanol, it was thought that the crop had found its niche in terms of production area (southern Plains) as well as markets. Primary sales would go to select overseas customers with over-production going into ethanol. However, sorghum remains largely tied to the value of corn. The correlation of the value of corn to sorghum production is near perfect, whereas the R2 value of sorghum to sorghum production is slightly lower. The stock...
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.