Stupid Cycle Putnam Investment’s chief investment officer, Shep Perkins, says we are at the beginning of a multi-year super cycle for agricultural commodity prices. He cites the uncontrollable shocks imposed by the pandemic and adverse weather for recent price spikes. However, peering into the future he sees policymakers as a key source for continued high prices as they impose sustainability requirements (e.g. fewer chemicals) that prevent the growth needed in crop yields to feed the world. Green Limits Greens are pushing policymakers to impose harsher emissions restrictions to combat climate change, but carbon taxes are regressive. Lawmakers in France fear that doubling the price of carbon to €100/MT would reignite prot...
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.