Small Decline in Canadian Canola Planting Predicted Agriculture Canada this week issued its first forecast for crop plantings for 2013. The report surprised analysts by predicting Canada's plantings of canola will decline from 21.531 million acres in 2012 to 21.302 million acres in 2013. That would be a decline of only 1.1 percent. The average estimate of 15 traders and analysts surveyed prior to the report was for plantings of 19.7 million acres, with a range from 18.5 million acres to 21.2 million acres. If the agency's forecast is correct, it would be the first decline in canola planted area in seven years.Agriculture Canada forecasts Canadian soybean plantings in 2013 at 4.792 million acres, an increase of 15.4 percent over last year...
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.