Grains and the soy complex were trading factors other than interest rates today. Weather and technical considerations once again dominated grain markets, beginning with the overnight session. General Comments The U.S. Federal Reserve Bank concluded its June meeting with a statement emphasizing the U.S. economy has bounced back from its first quarter slump, but that it wants to see more improvement in the job market and inflation closer to its 2 percent goal before raising interest rates. This statement was largely as expected and is seen as preparing markets for a rate increase sometime this year. If the economy continues to improve, as it seems to be doing during the second quarter, many economists predict a rate hike at the Fed's Septem...
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.