Lower Production Forecasts for Canola in Canada and Rapeseed in Europe Two reports released yesterday indicate both Canada and the EU-28 are likely to produce less canola and rapeseed, respectively, this year than earlier expected. In both cases, weather is the main reason. Statistics Canada yesterday lowered its estimate of Canadian canola plantings from 21.3 million acres (8.62 million hectares) to 20 million acres (8.093 million hectares), an 8 percent decline from 2018 and the smallest in three years. This is largely attributable to dry weather during the key planting period. However, another reason is China’s de facto ban on imports of Canadian canola, which drove its prices down. Meanwhile, Thomson Reuters’ commodity re...
Key Market Insights The broad market is locked in on this week’s Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing, but this is no longer just a trade summit. Increasingly, the meeting is becoming tied directly to Iran, energy security, and the growing global economic fallout from disruptions through the Strai...
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.