During the 2014 Farm Bill negotiations, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) was a divisive issue that delayed final passage of the legislation. In June 2013, Representative Steve Southerland (R-Florida) offered an amendment that became a focal point for the program. It would have encouraged states to establish work requirements as part of the eligibility for SNAP benefits. This was the beginning of the end for the farm bill that year, ultimately leading to the legislative strategy devised by then-Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Virginia). His objective was to strip the nutrition title from the farm bill and pass the two separately by party line vote. Now just in time for the 2018 Farm Bill, USDA announced plans last week to...
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.