War Mitigation Funds Threatened The Trump Administration has used up its $30 billion in CCC slush funds compensating farmers for the trade war and now Congressional Democrats are threatening to not refill the kitty via a continuing resolution being drafted for the end of September. The motivation is political in that losing the payments could cause farmers, a key Trump constituency, to stop supporting him. But it is also the assertion of Congressional primacy in overseeing how money is spent. Causing the payments to dry up also poses political risks for Democrats, particularly those campaigning for the presidency in the Midwest. Thus, more than likely this is a ploy to hold the Trump Administration accountable for how it is using the money...
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.