By the end of this month, USDA will have to decide whether to hold a public hearing on the Federal Milk Marketing Order (FMMO). This would be the first hearing in more than a decade. As WPI reported back in March, changes to the FMMO are a good bet given the impact of COVID on the dairy market, especially in light of an FMMO change in the 2018 farm bill (more below). Producer groups, primarily the American Farm Bureau Federation (AFBF) and the National Milk Producers Federation (NMPF), have been working on dairy program reforms for a couple of years now and in May, WPI summarized the proposed reforms to the FMMO submitted to USDA by NMPF with AFBF’s support. Since then, the International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) and the Wiscons...
Weighing in on strategic realignment
WPI’s team was retained by the governing board of a U.S. industry organization to review a decision, reached by vote, to invest significant assets into the development and management of an export trading company. WPI’s team conducted a formal review of this decision and concluded that the current level of market saturation would limit the benefits of the investment. Based on WPI’s analysis and recommended actions, the board subsequently reversed its decision and undertook a strategic planning effort to identify more impactful investments. On behalf of numerous clients, WPI has not only assisted in identifying strategic paths but also advised their implementation.
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...