Most would argue that a drought is the result of little or no rainfall, not exports of agricultural products to China or anywhere else on earth.CNBC carried an interesting article on the California drought and China this week, “How China is changing your dinner plate” (http://www.cnbc.com/2015/10/21/how-china-is-changing-your-dinner-plate.html). It suggests that China’s rapidly expanding demand for California’s Central Valley crops such as citrus, hay and dairy products, all of which require a great deal of water to produce, is actually somehow responsible for the state’s terrible drought. This is an interesting spin on the China food story. The gist of it is that as this Chinese demand increases, the drought worsens because farmers are usi...
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.
What You Need to Know Today: The corn and soybean markets closed slightly higher in low-volume trade. The wheat market was mixed, with HRW continuing its downward trek on improved moisture. As expected, the bearish cattle on feed report drove down cattle prices and pulled hogs down with it. Mi...
Monday, 25 May is a U.S. holiday, and both the markets and our office will be closed. Please note that the next issue of Ag Perspectives will be published on Tuesday, 26 May. The WPI staff wishes everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend...
USDA’s monthly cattle on feed report was released today. The total number of cattle on feed in feedlots with 1,000 head or more capacity amounted to 11.6 million head, 102 percent of last year. Source: USDA, WPI Placements were up, but part of that is attributable to persistent drought c...