For much of the period since the U.S.–Iran war started, commodity markets have been buoyed by macroeconomic “risk on” buying fueled by the geopolitical risk and crude oil’s rally. Recently, the impact of this risk and crude oil on the ag markets has faded, leaving crop f...
Mediterranean/Middle East/North Africa/Africa – MEA Region Pakistan has a Saudi Arabia-backed irrigation program that it says will increase wheat production through improved water use efficiency. The program is part of Pakistan’s Green Pakistan Incentive. Saudi Arabia is said to hav...
Beef packer margins deteriorated further, falling to -$129/head last week, down $38 from the prior week as a continued seasonal softening in the Choice cutout pressured returns. The cutout declined to $382/cwt, extending its post–Easter pullback, while fed cattle prices held near $248/cwt...
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.