Supreme Court Appears to Support Monsanto on Biotech Royalties The justices on the U.S. Supreme Court appeared to be very supportive yesterday of the right of Monsanto to collect royalties on its biotech soybeans regardless of where the planting seeds were sourced. The case is extremely important to biotech companies like Monsanto, DuPont and Syngenta, which depend on farmers paying them royalties for the right to plant their patented biotech varieties.Yesterday's hearing was held to consider the case of Bowman versus Monsanto; the hearing was initiated by Vernon Bowman, an Indiana farmer. Mr. Bowman purchased bin-run soybeans from an elevator and then planted the seed. He assumed that most of the soybeans were resistant to the herbici...
What You Need to Know Today: Cattle futures extended their sharp selloff Friday as weakening cash cattle prices, deteriorating feedlot profitability, and reduced packer demand continued to weigh on the market. The inability of futures to sustain a rally following last week's bullish Cattle on...
As predicted, the Federal Reserve held rates steady at the last meeting before the midterm elections, likely in part because of the election (see WPI 19 October and 22 September). The decision comes at the tail end of a midterm election cycle that has been marked by the two parties campaigning...
Key Takeaways: WPI’s new EU rapeseed crushing margin models point to weaker processing returns over the next four months due to higher rapeseed procurement costs and weaker product values. Statistical forecasts call for German crushing margins to decline from €181/MT to €...
From WPI Consulting
Infrastructure investment due diligence
On behalf of a Canadian oilseed processer WPI's team provided market analysis, econometric modeling and financial due diligence in support of a $24 million-dollar investment in a Ukrainian crush plant. Consistent with WPI's findings, local production to supply the plant and the facility's output have expanded exponentially since the investment. WPI has conducted parallel work on behalf of U.S., South American and European clients, both private and public, in the agri-food space.