Most crude oil, ethanol and biodiesel rail shipments in the United States originate in the Midwest (PADD 2). While only a relatively small percentage of crude oil is shipped in this manner, the overall volume has increased as domestic production exceeded pipeline takeaway capacity.As previously reported (see Ag Perspectives, 8 April 2016), The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) has added data on rail movements of ethanol and biodiesel to its Petroleum Supply Monthly (PSM) report. The database, going back to January 2010, is now complete. Only data and estimates on net receipts by Petroleum Administration for Defense District (PADD) were available in the past, but the EIA currently tracks both shipments out and receipts in. PADDs a...
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...
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.