Now that the new infrastructure bill has been signed into law, we almost know what is in it. While it is called an infrastructure bill, a little over a quarter of the new spending will be for environment improvements. The agriculture sector is pleased with the investments to be made in rural broadband, roads, waterways, and ports. Most of the railroad spending is for passenger rail. While the investments are needed and welcomed, it is notable that the World Bank classifies North American port infrastructure at the top, it also leads the Logistics Performance Index, and is well ahead on internet servers. Meanwhile, the legislation will add $350 billion to the budget deficit. Infrastructure $110 billion for roads and bridges $3...
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.