Several Republican candidates are challenging the 2014 Farm Bill for its failure to cut food stamps more and better address its corporate welfare. Frustration over the new law, though, may not come from Tea Party purists alone. Farm Bill Frustrations The Wall Street Journal highlighted today how the new farm bill "...Has Become a Midterm [election] Flash Point." Despite agriculture being an important sector in the states or districts where they are running for office, several Republican candidates are challenging the new law for its failure to cut food stamps more and better address its corporate welfare. Some are also signaling lukewarm views toward the ethanol mandate. It is a risky strategy, but these politicians could forecast a chang...
Key Takeaways: Soyoil futures have been trading at the highest levels since 2022. Higher crude oil prices have allowed biofuels to be more cost-competitive with fossil fuels. Recent U.S. biofuel policy, including 45Z, has been favorable toward soyoil as a feedstock. California will be limiting...
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.