Designed Obsolescence: According to NielsenIQ, 50 of the 52 food categories it tracks are more expensive than a year ago, with butter and milk being the only exceptions. Crop prices are at their highest levels in over eight years and global hunger is rising. Policymakers in Europe and the U.S. have the perfect solution – reducing the amount of farmland and the use of crop protectants. The Biden Administration’s 30x30 policy would prevent production on nearly a third of the nation’s land by 2030. The EU wants to switch to organic production, which yields 20-30 percent less than conventional agriculture. Mission Creep: WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala reportedly has discouraged the tendency to “use the W...
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.