The House Agriculture Committee’s first hearing this year on the 2023 farm bill strayed a bit from the technical jurisdiction of farm bill programs onto wider “headwinds” as Chairman Glen Thompson focused on regulatory overreach. Indeed, for several of the past farm bills there has been a growing recognition that much of what affects the farm and rural economy lies outside of the farm bill’s crop support programs and instead is driven by such things as trade and market access, environmental policy, and labor and immigration policy. While these policies can negatively impact production agriculture, so too can non-farm bill programs that generate economic activity. Consider the fundamental importance...
Infrastructure investment due diligence
On behalf of a Canadian oilseed processer WPI's team provided market analysis, econometric modeling and financial due diligence in support of a $24 million-dollar investment in a Ukrainian crush plant. Consistent with WPI's findings, local production to supply the plant and the facility's output have expanded exponentially since the investment. WPI has conducted parallel work on behalf of U.S., South American and European clients, both private and public, in the agri-food space.
What You Need to Know Today: The hot, dry weather forecast continues to drive strength in grain futures with corn and soybeans hitting another day of strong gains. Monday’s Crop Progress and Conditions data were in line with market expectations and showed relatively few concerns for the...
Yesterday we wrote about the Q1 GDP numbers and the June employment reports in an article entitled Real GDP for Q1 Relying on AI Buildout, Held Back by Consumer Spending. That article mentioned that consumer spending had become a drag on GDP. Nonetheless, real GDP in Q1 was revised upward to 2...
Key Takeaways: The Middle East and North Africa's arid climate and limited water resources have created a structural dependence on imported wheat. Government wheat tenders in major importing countries serve as important benchmarks for global trade, providing insight into exporter competitivene...