Regional News The Russia/Ukraine conflict has again taken on an increased importance for commodity markets. Ukraine last week accused Russia of mining the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant and both countries are accusing the other of planning attacks on the facility. Any event at the plant involving a radiation leak would render a large swath of Ukrainian (and possibly Russian) farmland unusable. To further complicate the outlook for Ukraine’s production and exports, Russia has repeatedly rebuffed attempts by the UN to find a compromise on reconnecting Russian banks to the global SWIFT payment network. Russia has indicated reconnection is a requirement before extending the Black Sea grain export corridor agreement. Despite...
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.