The Senate Agriculture Committee today passed its version of the 2013 Farm Bill by a 15-5 vote. Voting against the bill were Senators Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky), Mike Johanns (R-Nebraska), Pat Roberts (R-Kansas), John Thune (R-South Dakota) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-New York). In 2012, Gillibrand and McConnell (by proxy) voted against the bill. They were joined in 2012 by Senators Thad Cochran (R-Mississippi), Saxby Chambliss (R-Georgia) and John Boozman (R-Arkansas). The latter three, with the Southern commodity programs addressed more to their liking in this year's bill, voted for the blueprint today.Gillibrand did not offer her dairy amendment to strike the controversial supply control requirement under the Dairy Market Stabilization A...
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.