Aren't weather markets fun? For the third year in a row, the U.S. crop production has been bedeviled by various kinds and combinations of adverse weather ranging from too wet, too dry, too hot and too cold. The spring and summer growing season of this 2013/14 year has been unusually complex. At one time or another and in one region or another, crops have experienced three of those four conditions. So far, it has not been too cold although that is still a possibility and a risk.The level of volatility seen in grain and soy futures markets has been a popular topic since 2008 when markets rose to record heights by mid-year only to collapse later in the year. That price action was extreme enough that it captured political attention even among...
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 €...
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...
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.