Crude oil prices are at a four-year high and on a trend toward five straight quarters of increases – the longest bull market in more than 10 years. As is often the case with the oil markets, geo-politics is a driving force. U.S. sanctions on Iran are set to go into effect on 4 November, and resulting supply controls by OPEC and Russia are propping up prices. OPEC is especially enjoying the bull ride. Last year net oil export revenues were about $567 billion, up 20 percent from 2016. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) is projecting they will grow another 30 percent this year to $736 billion, according to its August forecasts. The difference between past periods of OPEC production control, supply interruptions and market...
What You Need to Know Today: Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva secured reelection on Sunday, defeating right-wing Senator Flávio Bolsonaro despite trailing in the first round of voting. The surprise victory triggered a sharp selloff in Brazilian financial market...
The 2026 midterm elections are a week from tomorrow, but early voting has been taking place for weeks. At stake is control of Congress, including the House of Representatives, where all 435 seats are contested, and the Senate, where approximately one-third of the seats are up for election. Farm...
Key Takeaways: Total U.S. crop acres (excluding hay) are forecast to expand fractionally this year due to greater oilseed crop and winter wheat plantings. One of the key drivers of this year’s crop outlook is input costs, and crops with a lower cost profile have an advantage in producers...
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.