A summary of positive economic data will be on the agenda for the Federal Reserve’s June meeting to decide on further interest rate hikes.The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will meet on 14 June, less than two weeks from today. After the 3 May meeting, it decided to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 0.75-1 percent. That decision was based on some slower-paced economic activity earlier in the year, and the FOMC wanted to make sure those soft numbers were “... transitory before taking another step in removing accommodation” (i.e., increasing interest rates).Below are some data points and trends that the Fed will consider as deliberations center around whether to increase interest rates again and ho...
What You Need to Know Today: A third U.S. border crossing (Columbus, New Mexico) has reopened to Mexican cattle imports following nearly two years of restrictions related to New World screwworm. The reopening could gradually improve feeder cattle availability, although more than 60 confi...
Yesterday, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) released a new report of negotiated cash purchases of cattle under the mandatory price report. The report included Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas. The goal of the report was to solve the confidentiality issues e...
Key Takeaways: U.S. soybean crushing began in 1911 and saw its most rapid expansion during the 1930s amid the broader agricultural and technology revolutions of the time. After peaking in the early 2000s, the soybean crushing industry went through a downturn as poor crush margins forced...
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.