Varied Opinions on China The U.S.-invoked trade war with China is entering a critical period, and both its rationale and outcome are widely debated. President Trump claims he is optimistic and there is a good chance for an agreement, and he therefore thinks the 1 March imposition of more duties can be avoided. His agriculture secretary, Sonny Perdue, says “we’re still a long way” from resolving the dispute. Meanwhile, USTR has just issued its annual National Trade Estimates report on foreign trade barriers, and it details a long list of problems with China. It also argues that the current proposed WTO reforms will fail to address those problems, and Beijing will simply block any efforts at the WTO it does not like...
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.