Russian Agriculture Enigma Among the many elections this year is Russia’s during 15-17 March. Vladimir Putin will be overwhelmingly elected. He has been effectively in control of the country for 23 years. Andrei Kolesnikov at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace says that Russia operates as a hybrid totalitarian state. Its institutions are managed or rather mismanaged by loyalist kleptocrats, which means they are in decay. Its military incompetence in Ukraine is just the most visible example of the country’s deterioration. Media analyst Elena Gold says Russia is in the Schrödinger’s cat state. Yet there is one sector that is thriving in Russia – agriculture. Its output of grains and oilseeds co...
Key Market Insights July is here, and the grain markets already feel like they are shifting gears. With the June USDA reports now behind us, inflation is back in the conversation, and traders are once again turning their attention to three familiar summer drivers: demand, money flow, and weathe...
Key Takeaways: Poultry is the fastest-growing major animal protein, supported by lower production costs, affordability, and broad consumer appeal. Broilers are the most feed-efficient major livestock species, giving chicken a lasting cost advantage over beef and pork. Short production cycles a...
What You Need To Know Today: Ethanol margins continue to run well above year-ago and normal seasonal values, but have slipped in recent weeks on weaker DDGS and ethanol pricing. WPI’s models project a steady decrease in returns to ethanol production following the end of the summer...
From WPI Consulting
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.