Though they closed higher, volume was down in corn and soybeans and wheat shaved off some more excess value. The truth is there is just not much to move the market right now. The lower value of the dollar plus rising equities and oil provides some outside support but the fundamentals are stable. The bull market is fading, not disappearing, and speculative money continues to trickle out. However, the Black Swan event could be right around the corner. The Saudi Arabian energy minister warned that the coming months could become more painful. It is already painful enough that a group of U.S. Congressional liberals proposed (and then withdrew) a request that the White House negotiate with Vladimir Putin. Russia has destroyed part of Ukrai...
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.