Classical Swine Fever in Japan/ASF in China Cases of classical swine fever (CSF), also known as hog cholrea, have been detected in five prefectures in Japan, most recently in the centrally-located Aichi Prefecture. So far, about 15,000 pigs are in the process of being culled. (Correction: It was initially reported here that this outbreak in Japan was African swine fever (ASF); it is, in fact, classical swine fever, which is a different strain caused by other viruses. Both, however, are highly contagious and lead to pig mortality. The critical difference from a contagion and market impact is that, according to the Organization of International Epizootics, there is no approved vaccine for ASF. There is an approved vaccine for CSF, but outbr...
Markets are caught between reasons to keep selling and reasons to take another look. Fund liquidation and renewed peace talks are pressuring grains, while fresh export business and some diesel relief offer encouragement. Corn recovered nearly 10 cents from its low to finish higher, while soybea...
Key Takeaways: President Trump announced $8 billion in additional agricultural assistance through the Harvest Fuel Relief Program, as USDA projects farm fuel and oil expenses will increase 28.8 percent in 2026. The package follows $12 billion in earlier relief, while government farm payments w...
Key Takeaways: A student group from the University of Chicago is protesting to bring back onion futures trading. Trading in onion futures was banned in 1958 following a spectacular bout of market manipulation that resulted in a corner of the physical market. The ban on onion futures led t...
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.