The least developed countries (LDCs) are demanding an indefinite (read permanent) exemption from having to honor any intellectual property rights to pharmaceuticals, and the U.S. is being called “egregious” for the “meager” offer of granting a ten-year waiver from obligations. R&D Scuttled Research and development (R&D), be it pharmaceuticals or agriculture, requires a paymaster. EU farm ministers are arguing that the European Patent Office’s recent ruling granting patents to crops bred for unique traits will undermine agricultural R&D. However, the U.S. grants such protections. The result, according to the European Investment Bank, is that agricultural R&D in America is nearly 40 percent greater, and half of it is generat...
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.