Commodity markets jolted higher today, not because of any tightening of supply and demand but due to the technical reaction to Europe failing to meet financial bets on the level of economic stimulus it would impose. Dumb versus Smart Labels The U.S. grocery industry says that its SmartLabels will be available on 80 percent of all food products within five years. A SmartLabel enables the consumer to access over 350 attributes about a product during the purchasing process. However, anti-food technology groups demand that the product attributes they most dislike (ex. GMOs) must be physically printed on the product. The irony is that when asked why organic foods aren’t labeled for the toxic chemicals used in their production since consumers a...
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...
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.