The Senate Agriculture Committee will hold a hearing on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) on Wednesday, 19 April. As WPI has mentioned many times previously, SNAP is one of the most contentious issues in the farm bill and thus the largest potential stumbling block to its timely reauthorization. As reported on 17 February, Now, for the 2023 farm bill. Increased SNAP spending was driven by USDA’s re-evaluation of the Thrifty Food Plan (TFP), a provision of the 2018 farm bill. The TFP is the estimate of costs of appropriate and nutritious food for a family of 4 to eat a healthy diet on a budget. USDA completed its re-evaluation in 2021, six months before the requirement, so that it could...
Key Market Insights The broad market is locked in on this week’s Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing, but this is no longer just a trade summit. Increasingly, the meeting is becoming tied directly to Iran, energy security, and the growing global economic fallout from disruptions through the Strai...
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.