Resistance versus Capitulation Reaction to the Trump administration’s proposed steel and aluminum tariffs is diverse. The EU says it should be exempt from the duties, and one EU member state representative said that he expects Brussels to skip the WTO and go to retaliation. By contrast, COFCO president Patrick Yu says that a trade war would not be good for the world and that Beijing is encouraging companies to buy U.S. soybeans. Unfortunately for Beijing, the government directing purchases just proves that China is not a market economy. The EU claims that its tariffs are about the same as those employed by the U.S., but Diane James, a member of the European Parliament from the UK, says that the EU operates 13,000 tariffs and 5,000 n...
What You Need to Know Today: The corn and soybean markets closed slightly higher in low-volume trade. The wheat market was mixed, with HRW continuing its downward trek on improved moisture. As expected, the bearish cattle on feed report drove down cattle prices and pulled hogs down with it. Mi...
Monday, 25 May is a U.S. holiday, and both the markets and our office will be closed. Please note that the next issue of Ag Perspectives will be published on Tuesday, 26 May. The WPI staff wishes everyone a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend...
USDA’s monthly cattle on feed report was released today. The total number of cattle on feed in feedlots with 1,000 head or more capacity amounted to 11.6 million head, 102 percent of last year. Source: USDA, WPI Placements were up, but part of that is attributable to persistent drought c...
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.