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An Era up in Smoke

British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has proposed that anyone turning 15 years of age or younger in 2024 will be banned forever from purchasing cigarettes. Eash year, the age restriction will be raised by one year. The bill also makes vapes less appealing. The goal is to start the first generation that is not hooked on smoking. A similar effort to ban tobacco products was withdrawn last year in New Zealand.  Even without such Draconian approaches, cigarette consumption has fallen in many parts of the world. In the U.S., the smoking rate has fallen by 72 percent from 41 percent in 1944 to currently 10 percent. In response, the area planted to tobacco in the U.S. has fallen by 80 percent since its peak in 1997. Farmers have switched to pr...

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Market Commentary: Wheat Pulls Back from Weather Rally; Soymeal Leads Soy Complex

The CBOT saw mixed trade to start the week with wheat futures (except the MGEX market) pulling back amid profit taking and a general feeling of a correction after their recent rally. The soy complex, on the other hand, saw a strong rally in soymeal as the plight of the Argentine crop is bolster...

Carbon Wars; Teeing up Taiwan

Carbon Wars The EU is moving forward with its plans for a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM), and with its EU Deforestation Regulation. Despite claims to handling domestic and imported products equally as required under the WTO’s national treatment obligation, there will be plenty...

Farm Bill Behind the Scenes Negotiations

On 15 April WPI reported: House Agriculture Committee Chairman Glenn Thompson (R-Pennsylvania) has stated that he will move a farm bill draft out of committee in May; the Ranking Minority Member, David Scott (D-Georgia) has indicated that he’ll work with Thompson to have a bipartisan time...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Wheat Pulls Back from Weather Rally; Soymeal Leads Soy Complex

The CBOT saw mixed trade to start the week with wheat futures (except the MGEX market) pulling back amid profit taking and a general feeling of a correction after their recent rally. The soy complex, on the other hand, saw a strong rally in soymeal as the plight of the Argentine crop is bolster...

Carbon Wars; Teeing up Taiwan

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Farm Bill Behind the Scenes Negotiations

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feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

WPI Crop Progress and Conditions App (Updated 29 April)

Update for 1 April 2024: Last year, users pointed out differences between the 5-year averages reported in this app and what USDA estimates in its weekly report. The difference exists because WPI calculates average based on the last 5 years of observations for the current week. In cases where ob...

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From WPI Consulting

Illuminating the value of technical research

On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.

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