There is good news for ethanol exporters as Brazil may very well lift the newly established tariff-rate quota (TRQ) on ethanol imports, which was imposed by its Council of Ministers of the Foreign Trade Chamber (CAMEX) in September (see Ag Perspectives, 8 August 2017). At the time, receipts of ethanol from the U.S. were up 308 percent over the previous year. The TRQ applied a 20 percent tariff to ethanol imports in excess of either an aggregate total of 600 million liters (158.5 million gallons) or 150 million liters (39.6 million gallons) per quarter or in any given month. The U.S. had exported enough ethanol in May to trigger the TRQ. Anticipation of that new levy and its implementation resulted in a 55 percent drop in those shipments dur...
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.