Agriculture ministers from five EU countries (Bulgaria, Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Slovakia) are asking the European Commission to come up with a solution to the harm they say is being caused by imports of grain from Ukraine. One option is to impose tariffs on Ukraine. However, it is their analysis of why Ukraine is more competitive that is noteworthy. They say, “The main reason for this is that cheaper Ukrainian agricultural products, due to different farming standards and land sizes…” The data is very tricky but the EU’s own stats show that the average farm size in Ukraine is 15 times larger than the average EU farm size. Amongst the complaining EU members, Slovakia actually has a larger average farm size than...
The Trump Administration is planning a suspension of tariff rate quotas (TRQs) on beef from all exporters for 200 days as a means to address high beef prices in the U.S. U.S. cattle and beef prices have increased based on exceptionally strong consumer demand, the smallest U.S. cattle herd in 75...
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.