The first six weeks of spring have been unusually cold and wet for most of the central U.S. Drenching rains together with the melting of an unusually deep snowpack have led to widespread flooding and saturated soils from the Delta north to the Dakotas and from the Plains east to the Atlantic Ocean. This has had a variety of impacts on crops and planting. The copious rainfall over the southern and central Plains has resulted in unusually high weekly condition ratings for the HRW crop. Overall, winter wheat was rated 64 percent good/excellent (G/E) by USDA as of 28 April. Ratings for HRW were relatively high with Oklahoma clocking an unusual 79 percent G/E. However, SRW in the mid-South and eastern Midwest is struggling with Missouri at 42 pe...
What You Need to Know Today: After a period of limited activity, USDA reported a sizeable 613 KMT in soybean export sales, including 330 KMT to China and 283 KMT to unknown destinations, potentially also China. The purchases represent a meaningful pickup in demand and bring China closer to ful...
Key Takeaways: Consumer spending is a key driver of the U.S. economy, and the latest retail sales data indicate that spending remains robust despite inflation. In September, total retail and food service sales rose more than 6 percent year-over-year, with food service spending up 7 percent and...
The Trump import plan for 300,000 MT of beef supplies used for ground beef, i.e., lean trim, from September through November has, according to Secretary Brooke Rollins, brought some relief to beef prices. The Executive Order states that the Secretary of Agriculture will analyze and review the m...
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.