Slaughter Estimates While the federal government is shut down and the Ag Marketing Service reports are unavailable, below is our estimate of cattle and beef slaughter for the week ending 5 October as derived from various private estimates.Based on these estimates, cattle slaughter was down 0.3 percent from last week and up 1.6 percent over the same week last year; hog slaughter was down 3.2 percent from last week and 9.9 percent from the same week last year; both cattle slaughter and hog slaughter totals are down 1.3 percent from levels of a year ago. PEDv Not Spreading Geographically According to the American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV), the number of case submissions testing positive for the Porcine Epidemic Diarrhoea...
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: The tariff burden rose sharply in 2025 and 2026: the effective rate on imports in HTS Chapters 1–24 increased from 1.53 percent in 2024 to 6.11 percent in 2025, before averaging 5.68 percent in January–August 2026. Headline rates tell only part of the story: exemptio...
Markets are getting into the Halloween spirit, handing out more tricks than treats. There has been some encouraging news, but it hasn’t been enough to slow the broader slide. Now buyers need to show up with something other than another “Charlie Brown” rock for the bag. Somethi...
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.