Regional News Generally favorable weather conditions persist across Europe with average precipitation for most of the continent. Last week’s temperatures were below average for eastern portions of Romania and Bulgaria, as well as western Ukraine but snow cover is rumored to be sufficient to avoid serious winterkill risks. The coming week features above-average temperatures for southern and central Europe and the Black Sea region, though precipitation will be below average for southern Romania, Bulgaria, and southern Russia. The latest satellite imagery from USDA shows winter crops in average or better condition through mid-January. The European Commission noted last week that frost tolerance for winter grains has increas...
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.