Last Friday, we reported on the new Executive Order from the Administration on various competitive issues for agriculture and the meat sector. As we mentioned, USDA will issue a new rule on meat labeling with regard to what can be labelled as “Product of USA.” Secretary Vilsack added some clarity to that effort in his remarks at an event in Council Bluffs, Iowa. First, the issue. In June, the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA) filed a petition with the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS) to change the current regulations that allow meat products to be labeled Production of the USA if the product included imported product which had been processed or packaged at an FSIS inspected facility. The U.S. Cattlemen&rsq...
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.
On Monday, 31 August, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced decisions for 34 small refinery exemption (SRE) petitions under the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) program for 2025. In consultation with the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), EPA reviewed and considered information su...
Key Takeaways: EPA granted full or partial Small Refinery Exemptions to 29 of the 34 petitions under consideration, removing approximately 1.76 billion RINs from 2025 compliance obligations, roughly 770 million more RINs than EPA had previously anticipated. The larger exemption total does not...
Beef packer margins improved sharply to $258/head last week, up $145 from the prior week as the Choice cutout strengthened while fed cattle prices declined. The cutout rose to nearly $382/cwt, while fed cattle prices fell to $219/cwt, extending the rapid recovery in packer spreads that began in...