The weather in 2012 was dramatic, to say the least. The U.S. had a record drought in its heartland and a hurricane, dubbed Superstorm Sandy, on the East Coast. Both were declared federal emergencies, and both will trigger federal aid passed by Congress. Because they are designated as "emergencies," additional spending does not fall under the federal budget and its rules. This includes any application of the pay-as-you-go rule, known in Washington parlance as PAYGO.The process by which the House of Representatives passed the bill for Hurricane Sandy relief may be instructive of the upcoming farm bill debate as well as future farm and disaster debates to come. First, the House split the package into two parts: immediate relief and long-term...
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...
Unlike the 2022 fertilizer shock, today’s disruption is rooted less in rerouted trade flows and more in damaged production capacity, raw material constraints and uncertain recovery timelines. That makes this a longer-duration risk for U.S. agricultural producers and retailers who must sec...
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.