Waste a Crisis II The U.S. Senate came close to a deal on a $2 trillion coronavirus bailout package for the economy before a partisan fight over unemployment benefits got in the way. Eventually there’ll be a deal and there will be lots of goodies in it that are completely unrelated to the pandemic. The Senate bill will have to be merged with a House version and the higher spending legislation will prevail. In the Senate bill, USDA gets $9.5 billion to spend on a variety of measures both good and bad, plus $14 billion to replenish the CCC slush fund. One provision would send extra money to the Supplemental Dairy Margin Coverage program, not because coronavirus spoils milk but because typical oversupply issues are hurting proces...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
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.