USDA will release its May 2019 WASDE tomorrow (10 May) at noon (EDT). While it will update U.S. and world supply/demand estimates for the current crop year cycle (as every WASDE does), the report will also provide the first serious detailed projections for the same in 2019/20. Doing so for the next year this far in advance could be called a fool’s game. The Northern Hemisphere new crop winter wheat harvest is still many weeks off with most new spring-planted crops still in the seed bag, and the Southern Hemisphere is not yet finished harvesting the current crop. Their new 2019/20 crops are months away from being planted, and that harvest is nearly a year away. Nevertheless, it is an exercise that USDA analysts engage in for every May...
What You Need to Know Today: Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva secured reelection on Sunday, defeating right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro despite trailing in the first round of voting. The surprise victory triggered a sharp selloff in Brazilian financial market...
The 2026 midterm elections are a week from tomorrow, but early voting has been taking place for weeks. At stake is control of Congress, including the House of Representatives, where all 435 seats are contested, and the Senate, where approximately one-third of the seats are up for election. Farm...
Key Takeaways: Total U.S. crop acres (excluding hay) are forecast to expand fractionally this year due to greater oilseed crop and winter wheat plantings. One of the key drivers of this year’s crop outlook is input costs, and crops with a lower cost profile have an advantage in producers...
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.