The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization says 25 MMT of exportable grain are stuck in Ukraine and threatening global food security. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says his government will work to help Ukraine export this grain, but the logistical hurdles are daunting. The first shipment of Ukrainian grain exited the Romanian port of Constant last week, but rail on the Romanian side of the border is too limited in capacity. Plus, Constanta authorities will give preference for their limited capacity to Romanian origin exports. Rail lines into western Europe are of a different gauge, forcing costly and time-consuming transfers. In a similar vein, grain exporting Ukraine into Poland for export out of Latvia’s three...
What You Need to Know Today: Crude oil prices extended their rally today, supported by several developments, including escalating Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabian oil infrastructure and growing concerns about supply disruptions. The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to remove 50 perc...
Regional News Dry weather across the UK and Europe is becoming increasingly concerning for the 2027 crops as planting intentions are lowered amid dry soil conditions. Delayed sowing or establishment under adverse conditions could leave crops more vulnerable to frost/freeze events and dise...
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.