A meeting of U.S. aggies to discuss the renegotiation of NAFTA involved much focus on the net benefits of trade agreements and what is disliked about the current situation, but some key issues remain. Trade Policy Conundrum A meeting of U.S. aggies to discuss the renegotiation of NAFTA involved much focus on the net benefits of trade agreements and what is disliked about the current situation, but some key issues remain.Negotiating Leverage: The biggest overall challenge is obtaining a more level playing field when it comes to trade. Aggies make clear that they absolutely deplore Donald Trump’s threat to quit NAFTA if it is not made more to his liking, equating it to cutting off the nose to spite the face. Yet he makes the threat specific...
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.