The grain business has substantially changed in many ways over the years, some of which can make achieving satisfactory profitability more difficult and complex. The past couple of years have seen the so-called big multinational grain companies produce less-than-stellar results. A common thread among them has been annual net profits that have not quite met expectations of industry analysts nor those of corporate management and stockholders. It is not that the companies have been unprofitable; rather, their profits have been generally viewed as mediocre.It was not supposed to be this way. The last four years have featured abundant, increasing supplies of grain and oilseeds in the U.S. and around the world. They have also featured demand that...
What You Need to Know Today: A third U.S. border crossing (Columbus, New Mexico) has reopened to Mexican cattle imports following nearly two years of restrictions related to New World screwworm. The reopening could gradually improve feeder cattle availability, although more than 60 confi...
Yesterday, the USDA’s Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) released a new report of negotiated cash purchases of cattle under the mandatory price report. The report included Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas, and Kansas. The goal of the report was to solve the confidentiality issues e...
Key Takeaways: U.S. soybean crushing began in 1911 and saw its most rapid expansion during the 1930s amid the broader agricultural and technology revolutions of the time. After peaking in the early 2000s, the soybean crushing industry went through a downturn as poor crush margins forced...
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.