Transatlantic Angst The American side accuses Brussels of delaying tactics in the negotiations and insists that agriculture is an agreed part of the effort. European officials point to the literal text of the July Juncker-Trump letter of agreement and say agriculture is not included for two reasons: 1) Trump insisted he wanted a quick agreement, but agriculture would take more than the allotted seven to nine months to negotiate; and 2) it is a quid pro quo for Washington refusing to negotiate on government procurement. U.S. Ambassador to the EU Gordon Sondlond likely raises hackles in Brussels by insisting that the bilateral relationship is imbalanced, and if it cannot be righted on a voluntary basis, it will be accomplished “in oth...
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.