One plank in the Republican candidacy of Donald Trump for the American presidency is frustration with so-called political correctness. He would be blowing a gasket if U.S. authorities had taken the position of Britain’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) in a recent ruling. Farm Bill Double Trouble We have provided at least a half-dozen reasons why U.S. farm policy is in trouble going forward (see Ag Perspectives, 2 February), including its skyrocketing costs. Now an academic has put a number on the latter. Important to note for both other countries considering adoption of a crop insurance approach and corporate welfare-hating American politicians, the main farm support programs in the 2014 Farm Bill were initially projected to cost ju...
What You Need to Know Today: Chinese purchases of U.S. soybeans continued to accelerate, with USDA reporting another 558 KMT sold to China and 236 KMT to unknown destinations. Combined with sales announced Wednesday and Thursday, the latest purchases bring the three-day total to approximately...
As fall begins, wild migratory birds are starting their seasonal migration. That has the industry and government officials worried about the potential spread, again, of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Some members of Congress have called for the United States to be prepared for a pote...
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.