According to some policymakers, the requirement that aid be sent on U.S.-flagged vessels might be the most important issue.The White House has long made the delivery of U.S. food and humanitarian assistance a priority, proposing to reduce both the U.S. contribution of commodities and the requirement that aid be sent on U.S.-flagged vessels. Both suggested reforms could decrease the cost of administering food aid and are probably correct. Cash could be used to purchase commodities more closely located to aid recipient nations, and the ability to ship on foreign carriers could also reduce shipping costs. The president's latest proposed budget for FY 2015 recommends the use of local procurement near crises, or cash transfers and vouchers...
Key Takeaways: Milk alone has not covered the full economic cost in any year since 2021: milk revenue fell short by $4.50, $2.15, $6.50, $1.27 and $2.34 per hundredweight in 2021 through 2025. Calf and cattle prices decided whether dairies cleared cost: cattle and other income lifted total rev...
Key Takeaways: Dry bulk markets are mixed with Capesize rates seeing solid gains while Panamax values slipped on a growing tonnage list. Supramax and Handysize vessels were stronger, though all sectors remain vulnerable to the seasonal dip in rates through Q4 and into Q1. Falling water l...
What You Need to Know Today: The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at 3.75 to 4.0 percent Wednesday, with two officials dissenting in favor of a 25-basis-point increase. The Fed upgraded its assessment of economic growth from "solid" to "strong" but adopted a more patient approa...
From WPI Consulting
Accountability and a comprehensive approach to export programming
WPI’s team helped construct a strategic approach to develop, implement, and track promotional activities in 8 key regions across the globe for an agricultural export association. With continued progress measurement and strategic advisory services from WPI, the association has seen its ROI from investments in promotional programming increase by 44 percent over the past 5 years. Not only does this type of holistic approach to organizational strategy provide measurable results to track and analyze, it fosters top-down and bottom-up organizational accountability.