The start of the 12th WTO Ministerial in Geneva does not provide much hope for the rest of the week. The EU and U.S. delegations walked out when Russia’s representative was about to speak to the meeting. There were also dozens of countries declaring solidarity with Ukraine, but that was not unanimous. Director General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala acknowledged that Russia’s war on Ukraine has worsened global food security. The DG also noted that just one out of 164 members could block decisions, and that “a return to might makes right in international commercial relations would be costly for the mighty, and even more damaging for everyone else.” Yet that is the precise problem with the WTO in that consensus is near impo...
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.