Brazil last week reported a case of atypical Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE); it was discovered in a seven-year-old cow in the northern state of Pará. About 25 percent of Brazil’s beef herd is in the northern region. Lab tests from the World Organization for Animal Health facility in Alberta are expected this week. According to a statement from the Ministry of Agriculture (MAPA), “Based on the result, the appropriate actions will be applied immediately.” Compare that with the cases in 2021. MAPA confirmed on 4 September 2021, two atypical cases BSE in New Canaã do Norte (MT) and Belo Horizonte (MG). However, those cases were not reported for months. As a result, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, t...
What You Need to Know Today: The hot, dry weather forecast continues to drive strength in grain futures with corn and soybeans hitting another day of strong gains. Monday’s Crop Progress and Conditions data were in line with market expectations and showed relatively few concerns for the...
Yesterday we wrote about the Q1 GDP numbers and the June employment reports in an article entitled Real GDP for Q1 Relying on AI Buildout, Held Back by Consumer Spending. That article mentioned that consumer spending had become a drag on GDP. Nonetheless, real GDP in Q1 was revised upward to 2...
From WPI Consulting
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.