Congress is completely consumed by the spending bill, which was to have been unveiled today. Indeed, it’s nearly halfway through FY 2018, and federal funding for the year runs out at midnight on 23 March unless Congress passes a continuing resolution (CR) appropriations bill. There have already been five stop-gap spending bills passed this year. While such situations are always high stakes, this one is particularly so as it will be the last must-pass piece of legislation prior to the midterm elections in November. Although the Republican majority controls the agenda, the leadership of the Democratic minority, which is hoping to make big gains in this election, is engaged in some tough negotiations to try to capitalize on the opportuni...
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.