As Europe transitions to a low carbon economy amid COVID-related disruptions, there are rising concerns about developing shortages of basic materials. The same could happen to food if activists get their way in rewriting the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP). While U.S. presidential contenders Donald Trump and Joe Biden profess how they will be better than the other in helping farmers, activists outside an agricultural ministers meeting yesterday in Germany were demanding more “radical” changes to the CAP. The ministers gathered to discuss animal welfare, but activists want a halt to biodiversity loss, climate neutrality, investment in an ecological transition, and greater food sovereignty (e.g. stop imports). They argued agains...
A federal appeals court paused a USITC ruling against President Trump’s use of Section 122 to impose 10-percent global tariffs. A bipartisan group of 80 House members asked USTR to investigate specialty crop imports from Mexico for unfair trade practices. India notified the WT...
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.