Wrong Turn on Supply Controls We noted back on 12 August how French egg farmers were grousing about heavy financial losses as their Dutch counterparts were expanding production and exports, even to France. French farmers blame the cost of replacing battery cages with penthouses and the fact that Brussels no longer subsidizes egg exports. It is reported that French egg producers want the EU to short the market by imposing production controls. The commission's rational response is that a) farmers have had more than a decade to update their equipment and b) the market will resolve itself (e.g. the cure for low prices is low prices). Of course, the commission spokesman then had to add politics and the economically irrational by blaming sup...
What You Need to Know Today: U.S. weather is getting more attention this week as conditions vary greatly across the western, central, and eastern corn belts, with the different regions battling dryness and too much rain simultaneously. The ProFarmer Crop Tour began today in Indiana and Nebrask...
Key Takeaways: Argentina is on pace for a record corn crop and record exports in the current marketing year, with abundant supplies likely to keep the country highly competitive in global export markets. Argentina’s record exportable surplus is allowing it to offer highly competitive pri...
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.