A federal court today rejected a key part of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mandate for cellulosic fuels, but it also ruled against a complaint lodged by the American Petroleum Institute (API). The API last year petitioned the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to overturn the EPA's mandates for 2012 advanced biofuel volumes, both cellulosic and overall advanced.The court vacated the EPA's 2012 cellulosic volume of 8.65 million gallons (reduced from the statutory level of 500 million gallons) because EPA's estimates included an element of "promoting growth" in the cellulosic fuel sector, as API described it. The court agreed that since EPA's estimation process "did not take neutral aim at accuracy, it wa...
What You Need to Know Today: Cattle futures extended their sharp selloff Friday as weakening cash cattle prices, deteriorating feedlot profitability, and reduced packer demand continued to weigh on the market. The inability of futures to sustain a rally following last week's bullish Cattle on...
As predicted, the Federal Reserve held rates steady at the last meeting before the midterm elections, likely in part because of the election (see WPI 19 October and 22 September). The decision comes at the tail end of a midterm election cycle that has been marked by the two parties campaigning...
Key Takeaways: WPI’s new EU rapeseed crushing margin models point to weaker processing returns over the next four months due to higher rapeseed procurement costs and weaker product values. Statistical forecasts call for German crushing margins to decline from €181/MT to €...
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.