If there was one area of agreement for nearly all crop watchers, it would be that this year’s mixed-up and adverse weather made it very unlikely that 2017 corn and soybean yields would reach trend line levels. Then came the August WASDE.During most U.S. corn and soybean crop cycles, the game of guessing what the national average yields will be gets underway sometime in early July. Guesses are modified thereafter by central U.S. weather conditions and perceptions about their potential impact, positive or negative, on crop development and production. The first real input from USDA/NASS comes in the August WASDE, which includes the initial yield estimates that are based mainly on farmer surveys and plant populations. Also included are estimate...
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.