Maize is harder to grow, or at least harder to grow well. Crop yields vary tremendously across the hundreds of countries where grown but the disparity is more notable for corn. For rice and wheat, the country with the 15th highest yield in these two crops is netting over 60 percent of the yield achieved in the number one highest yield country. However, for maize the country down at number 15 for yield is achieving just 35 percent of the yield of the highest per hectare output country. This is a skewed view since any country can achieve a high yield if cost of production is ignored. Some of the countries with the highest yields produce on relatively few hectares and are not exporters. Achieving a very high average yield across a large land...
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.