After nearly a decade of generally excellent crops coupled with high prices that brought the best economic times in history to U.S. agriculture, the immediate problem now facing many farmers is cash flow or the lack thereof.The planting season is quickly winding down. Now with the markets still looking soft, the media has started to discuss the worsening financial plight of farmers. We haven't seen such troubling farm stories for nearly a decade as generally excellent crops coupled with high prices brought the best economic times in history to U.S. agriculture. Those good years were accompanied by a great federal crop revenue protection insurance program that gave farmers a one-year advance cushion against losses. This occurred because the...
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.