Regional News Farmer selling stayed limited across much of Europe last week as low flat prices, year-end cash-flow planning, and holiday-period logistics reduced the appetite to move tonnage. The practical impact was a thinner spot market: bids softened on paper, but physical values in se...
European Revival The transatlantic relationship is rapidly evolving and the story is told by some recent headlines… The U.S. has already swamped Europe with its technology and now it wants to own the EU’s energy market as well. European diplomats in Washington message the Tr...
The USDA will base the $12 billion in farmer payments it recently announced under the Farmer Bridge Assistance (FBA) program on 2025 planted acreage. The department announced that acreage reports, as of 19 December, by 5 p.m., should be “accurate.” Payment rates will be announced th...
The U.S. trade deficit narrowed unexpectedly to $52.8 billion in September, the smallest since mid-2020. The decline in the deficit was due to a large increase in exports, which rose $8.4 billion. Imports were up a more modest $1.9 billion. The President may see this as a win, as the cor...
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.