By now nearly everyone involved in agriculture or in activities even remotely connected with agriculture is aware that USDA will release a crop report (the WASDE) on Friday, 10 August. Most are aware that the U.S. corn and soybean crops have been hurt by this summer's severe drought and that USDA will provide a view of how badly those crops have been damaged by the drought. By the end of Friday, the television press will no doubt have conveyed USDA's crop estimates along with 30-second analyses of what they mean, as delivered by reporters standing amid fields of withered corn.Although much attention will be focused on USDA's first estimates of yields and production based on its actual survey process, the fact that U.S. corn production is...
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.