Glyphosaticus Subterfugium Although its roots are Latin, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s reported anger with Christian Schmidt, her agriculture minister, for voting yes to glyphosate’s five-year extension in the EU is nothing more than subterfuge. The vote poses a challenge to her efforts at forming a coalition government between her SPD party and the Social Democrats. Schmidt’s position was well known, and sending him to make the vote was a tacit acknowledgment as to the best policy for Germany. It is notable that she did not ask for his resignation following the vote but merely expressed publicly her dissatisfaction. It is the deceit of politicians to feign disfavor over the obvious. NAFTA Opportunity In the N...
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.