Some members of the U.S. House intend to introduce legislation tomorrow that would reform or change the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). Apparently they are ignoring claims by the ethanol industry that there is no critical mass of opposition to the RFS in Congress. Opponents of the RFS have been trying Chinese water torture against the law in hopes of killing it. The latest is mocking the so-called "ethanol shuffle" that has resulted, whereby sugarcane-based ethanol is attracted into the U.S. market in order to fulfill the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) mandated advanced biofuel market while surplus corn-based ethanol is exported to Brazil to help meet that nation's mandated percentage blends. Even the U.S. corn ethanol industry th...
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.