It must be something about the position, because UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Director General José Graziano da Silva is now making the same type of sweeping but rhetorical demands as his predecessor in the job, Jacques Diouf. SOTU and Agriculture There are two main topics of interest to agriculture expected to be a part of President Obama's State of the Union (SOTU) address: an increase in the capital gains tax and a request for Trade Promotion Authority. He will seek a rise in the capital gains tax to 28 percent, up nearly double from 15 percent in 2012, and a broadening of its application in order to close loopholes such as the stepped-up basis provision that exempts inherited gains. Farm wealth is typically imbedded in t...
What You Need to Know Today: The Federal Reserve held interest rates steady at 3.75 to 4.0 percent Wednesday, with two officials dissenting in favor of a 25-basis-point increase. The Fed upgraded its assessment of economic growth from "solid" to "strong" but adopted a more patient approa...
Key Takeaways: Expected growth in U.S. soybean crushing capacity and output, driven by biofuel demand, will increase domestic soymeal supplies, with production growth significantly outpacing demand. WPI forecasts soymeal production increasing from 65.8 million short tons in 2026/27 to 70.5 mil...
Russian Grain Markets: 19–23 October 2026 The Russian grain market continued its recovery during the week, although prices remained volatile across regions. Wheat was notably bullish, while feed barley and corn were slower to appreciate, primarily because of weaker export demand amid logi...
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.