As the new month begins, there are a number of concerns and issues related to agricultural production and/or trade.We begin the Merry Month of May, as the song from Lerner and Loewe’s musical “Camelot” called it, with some random and mostly unconnected thoughts for whatever they may be worth.- As a counter to agricultural concerns about the impact of the Trump administration’s trade policies, we note that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is advising U.S. farmers to plant as much as they can “because the rest of the world is incapable of feeding itself.” Someone should send Secretary Ross a copy of USDA’s April WASDE, which clearly shows the results of four years of very big U.S. and world crops. Instead of the world being unable to feed itsel...
What You Need to Know Today: A third U.S. border crossing (Columbus, New Mexico) has reopened to Mexican cattle imports following nearly two years of restrictions related to New World screwworm. The reopening could gradually improve feeder cattle availability, although more than 60 confi...
Yesterday, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) released a new report of negotiated cash purchases of cattle under the mandatory price report. The report included Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas. The goal of the report was to solve the confidentiality issues e...
Key Takeaways: U.S. soybean crushing began in 1911 and saw its most rapid expansion during the 1930s amid the broader agricultural and technology revolutions of the time. After peaking in the early 2000s, the soybean crushing industry went through a downturn as poor crush margins forced...
From WPI Consulting
Weighing in on strategic realignment
WPI’s team was retained by the governing board of a U.S. industry organization to review a decision, reached by vote, to invest significant assets into the development and management of an export trading company. WPI’s team conducted a formal review of this decision and concluded that the current level of market saturation would limit the benefits of the investment. Based on WPI’s analysis and recommended actions, the board subsequently reversed its decision and undertook a strategic planning effort to identify more impactful investments. On behalf of numerous clients, WPI has not only assisted in identifying strategic paths but also advised their implementation.