In a wide variety of ways, USDA affects and influences producers of grains, oilseeds, livestock, poultry and eggs, cotton, wool, sugar, fruits, vegetables, nuts, forestry products and horticulture. USDA affects those that handle, transport, process, export, import and use or consume any of these products or anything made from them. It affects the financial institutions that provide financing for producers and those involved at any point up to the final consumer. USDA may be largely invisible to the general public, but in a multitude of ways ranging from national forests to food stamps, school lunches and more, it is a part of everyone's life.We are now into the third day of the government shutdown caused by the failure of the Republican-c...
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.