"Hope springs eternal," as the old saying goes, and in terms of U.S. corn and soybean crops for 2013/14, last week's projections from the USDA Outlook Conference were loaded with hope. The principal element of hope seemed to be that the crops produced in 2013/14 would eliminate any and all concerns about the adequacy of supplies of grains or soybeans. USDA projected 2013/14 U.S. corn production to be record large at 14.5 billion bushels based on a yield of 163.6 bushels per acre. Soybean production is projected at 3.4 billion bushels based on a record yield of 44.5 bushels per acre. Based on these projections, U.S. ending corn stocks of 2.18 billion bushels for 2013/14 will be well more than three times larger than USDA's latest estimate...
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.