Russian Grain Markets: 3–7 August 2026 The Russian grain market continued to decline during the first week of August following the closure of the Azov and Don ports and restrictions on Black Sea trade linked to the war in Ukraine. Regular air attacks on infrastructure and vessels have further disrupted logistics and export activity. The disruption has prompted exporters to pause purchases in both the Azov and Black Sea regions, causing internal trade to weaken sharply. Russia remains highly dependent on exports, particularly wheat. With ABCD companies not currently active in Russia and alternative trading activity limited, the market has few outlets for grain. Kazakhstan has also closed its borders to Russian wheat. The combination of...
What You Need to Know Today: New World screwworm is back in the headlines after new cases were found in a hunter-harvested elk in Texas and a beef cow in New Mexico. The detection in wildlife could further complicate containment efforts, as implementing effective biosecurity measures is consid...
Key Takeaways: Dry bulk markets remain mixed with Capesize rates turning around from their recent weakness and posting solid gains on improved Chinese demand. Panamax vessels, on the other hand, saw rates decline amid greater tonnage availability in the South Atlantic and falling U.S. Gu...
Key Takeaways: Demand and capacity decide where milk growth lands. Italian cheese is up 4.2 percent in 2026, and milk output is growing fastest in Kansas, South Dakota and Texas, where the new plants are located. Price spreads decide where the marginal milk goes. The Class IV premium over Clas...
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.