CBOT markets were sharply higher overnight after news of a pending U.S.-China trade deal. Soybeans posted an amazing 13½ cent overnight gain while corn finished the night session up 5½ cents. Wheat added 3-5 cents in similarly enthusiastic trade. The day session saw prices m...
The actual agricultural purchases to be made by China next year remains unclear with officials in Beijing failing to confirm President Trump’s boast about huge purchases. There is a press account citing an unnamed Chinese official oddly saying that there will be more imports of American w...
Congress is hitting the home stretch and policy making is at a frenzied paced. Following is a recap and some thoughts on implications. At this point, there are few details available as there are many moving parts. It will be a long weekend for policymakers and their staffs, and many long hours...
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.