Utopian Agriculture Irony Debating the future of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) will be a major objective for the new politicians in Brussels and the twists and turns ahead are fascinating. First, there is the issue of crop protection. Chemophobia is in full swing with the demand to eliminate the use of chemicals in food production. Rational forces recognize this is a bridge too far and will cause productivity to fall too much for food security purposes. They argue that new breeding techniques that build protections into the plant itself is the future. This is especially true given the threats from climate change. However, this means getting environmentalists to agree to remove the shackle of the Novel Foods Directive s...
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.