The Latest in Stochastic Modeling

Stochastic Modeling reduces risk in management decisions by adequately characterizing the variables associated with a project. Find out more next month at the Solutions blog.

2011 Northeast Iowa Biomass Asset Map Officially Launches

The day has officially arrived to launch the 2011 Northeast Iowa Biomass Asset Map, a project we've been working on with many partners over the last few months. Text to the press release follows: Des Moines, IA, February 10, 2011 - Decision Innovation Solutions (DIS), an economic research company focused...

National Economic Impact of Ethanol Study Released

Recently, John Urbanchuk of Cardno Entrix released his annual assessment of the impact of the ethanol industry. In the past Mr. Urbanchuk has done similar work for the state of Iowa where he has come up with similar results. We at Decision Innovation Solutions agree that the ethanol industry, both...

Pork Industry Gets a New Slogan

"Pork, the Other White Meat" has been around since 1987. For some, this statement has been around longer than they have been alive and for others, they might remember when this ad campaign hit the air waves. The Pork industry has recently released its newest ad campaign of "Pork: Be...

Recent Inflation Driven by Food and Energy

The Consumer Price Index Data published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics for February 2011 has been making quite a stir in the news the past few days. It states that the index for food rose 0.6 percent in February and 0.5 percent in January. This is a major concern...

How Do You Deal With Risk? (by Ryan Drollette)

All businesses encounter risk. Risk is born out of uncertainty, or not having a perfect knowledge of future events. Risk involves making a choice when you are not certain of the outcome and that the outcome may have a negative effect. Dana Hoag from Colorado State University in his book...

Do Sanitary and Phytosanitary Affect U.S. Agricultural Exports?

International markets for U.S agricultural products are often subjected to a wide range of trade barriers such as tariff and non-tariff measures. Though tariffs for agricultural products have been declining over the years under the purview of World Trade Organization (WTO), sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) barriers have become increasingly more...

Optimization, by Spencer Parkinson

With the economy still struggling to regain momentum, the use of resources (i.e., human and capital) continues to be heavily scrutinized to ensure they are put to their best use. Of course, the "best use" of resources can be defined in many ways, but generally what people refer to in...