Cattle Market to Tighten in 2020 Going into 2020, the beef cattle inventory is likely to be down. The cattle inventory data will be released by USDA on 31 January, but based on 2019 trends, it is likely to be down from the herd as of January 2019, which, at 94.8 million head was slightly larger than at the start of 2018. The cattle cycle has been up since January 2014, when the herd hit 70-plus year low at 88.2 million head. But, 2019 saw herd liquidation as heifer retention decreased and the number of females in the slaughter mix increased. Through the end of November, beef cow slaughter was up 3 percent, the highest in more than five years. Dairy cow slaughter was up 2.3 percent. This is the fifth year of increased total cow...
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.