The Senate farm bill was enrolled yesterday, setting the stage for June consideration on the Senate floor. The bill underwent some changes from the version passed out of the Agricultural Committee, including a provision on the Desert Terminal Lakes program, which is a pet project of Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. Reid's office has said that the farm bill will be the second order of business when the Senate returns from the Memorial Day recess week, meaning it could come up by the end of the first week of June. Some other changes include a 10 percent deductible for the new supplemental Ag Risk Coverage (ARC), which should score a lower cost with the Congressional Budget Office.Senate Ag Committee Chairwoman Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan)...
Key Takeaways: President Trump announced $8 billion in additional agricultural assistance through the Harvest Fuel Relief Program, as USDA projects farm fuel and oil expenses will increase 28.8 percent in 2026. The package follows $12 billion in earlier relief, while government farm payments w...
Key Takeaways: A student group from the University of Chicago is protesting to bring back onion futures trading. Trading in onion futures was banned in 1958 following a spectacular bout of market manipulation that resulted in a corner of the physical market. The ban on onion futures led t...
Beef packer margins deteriorated to $141/head last week, down $55 from the prior week as fed cattle prices strengthened while the Choice cutout remained nearly unchanged. The cutout held near $373/cwt while fed cattle prices climbed $4/cwt to $224/cwt, narrowing processor profits. Despite the d...
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.