One factor that has not received a great deal of attention is how much Southern states have contributed to the increase in U.S. soybean production in recent years as a result of larger plantings and much higher yields.It came as no surprise yesterday that the USDA supply and demand report raised the forecast for U.S. soybean production in 2014 by 31 million bushels (844,000 MT) to 3.958 billion bushels (107.74 MMT). Farmers across the Midwest have been reporting excellent yields, and market analysts were predicting an increase. My suspicion is that the crop size will be raised again when the final estimate is released in January.One factor that has not received a great deal of attention is how much Southern states have contributed to the in...
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.