World Perspectives
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It’s More Than Food

In Japan, rice has been called the essence of culture; it has meant more than just food, though food security is the basis for policy interventions to protect it. Despite the nostalgia and market controls, rice on paddy fields is declining, giving way to more profitable wheat and soybeans that previously grew on terraced land. The government itself wants production to decline further as domestic consumption has fallen. Increasingly, rice is being used as animal feed, which likely would have caused an uproar in the past unless the grains were damaged.  There is sympathy in North Dakota where farmers are abandoning traditional wheat production and replacing it with more profitable corn and soybean production.  ...

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Dry bulk freight rates cratered this week as China started its Golden Week holiday, which blanketed markets with calm and quiet. Pacific markets were especially dull and weaker, especially amid doubts about how China’s grain demand will play out after the holiday. China still has not book...

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Yesterday, WPI presented our initial acreage forecasts for the 2026 U.S. crop year with a focus on the major crops (corn, soybeans, and all-wheat). Today, we extend that analysis to show our forecasts for more minor crop acres. Briefly, our modeling results show that producers across the U.S. a...

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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.

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