Regional News Europe experienced one of the warmest periods in its history during December and January, which is expected to have both positive and negative impacts. The warmer weather allowed late-planted crops more time for germination and establishment, but it also reduced the crops’ resistance to frost. While Europe has not yet had significant frost/freeze events this winter, the fact that crops may be more susceptible to extreme cold weather remains a concern. Fortunately, the long-term weather forecast calls for mostly warmer-than-average temperatures through April. One additional concern from the warm weather is that pest and disease issues are often worse after a mild winter. Areas most at risk are Germany, Poland, Sweden, th...
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.