War and China The U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran also involve China, tangentially if not directly. Iran has been supplying about 13.4 percent of China’s oil imports, roughly 1 million barrels per day. The attacks follow the U.S. removal of Venezuela’s leader, a country that is a smaller supplier of oil to China but still important. Beijing has called the attacks unacceptable, reckless, destabilizing, and has demanded restraint. But thus far it has only used words. Oil is fungible. Supplies from Russia and other Middle East countries will likely increase, but they will come at a higher price. President Trump says he may provide military security for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of traded oi...
The heat of summer is now transitioning into more moderate temperatures, and the next two months have the busiest marketing periods of the year for replacement cattle. Weather always influences the replacement cattle market, and the primary grain belt in the Southern Plains, where many cattle a...
Key Takeaways: Diesel accounts for about 64 percent of U.S. farm fuel spending. For farmers, the pressing question is what a higher price adds to each field operation. Iowa farm diesel averaged $5.50/gallon in September, compared with the $2.89/gallon Iowa State assumed for its February machin...
It’s often said that history doesn’t repeat itself, but it often rhymes. If only humanity could stop repeating the worst parts of our historic verse. Politicians, again at the center of this week’s follies, have found a way to make old mistakes sound new: announce them at a pr...
Officials from the Trump Administration are reportedly considering rolling back the Administration’s beef import plan as there is a growing panic about the midterm elections. The proposal to reduce the 300,000 MT of beef imports – 100,000 MT for September – is being discussed...
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.