The U.S. is not the only country debating the future of biofuel compliance credits, which are known as Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) there. Biofuel policy opponents recently proposed that a cap be placed on the price of RINs traded in the secondary market. Meanwhile, biofuel advocates have proposed ways to expand its use in order to boost the supply of RINs. Both plans have been characterized as a way to make RINs more affordable and thus reduce their impact on the economics of supplying fuel. RINs are the implicit subsidy under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS). In Brazil, however, a bill that just passed the legislature and is on President Temer’s desk doubles down on the RIN-style structure and places it squarely in the...
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.