European food makers are finding out what some American brands like Sunkist learned many years ago – the Chinese will steal the names of your products. Death’s Slow Recovery The “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico is the largest ever, creating a slew of media stories, and thus calls for action. Agriculture accepts some responsibility for its existence and has taken steps to reduce the leaching of nitrogen and phosphorous from farmland into the adjacent waters. Calls to do more should be informed by a University of Waterloo study that cautions against a “rush to judgment.” The authors’ study found that it can take decades (30-40 years) for the nutrient management efforts to have positive impact hundreds of miles away on the algal source of t...
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.
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...