The Biden Administration announced that it will ensure enforcement of the Phase One trade deal with China but that will not be much of a challenge when it comes to agriculture. U.S. sales to the Middle Kingdom are up over 100 percent. The increases include a 194 percent spike in soybeans sales and a 182 percent jump in corn sales. There have also been large increases in sales of products such as cotton, meat, ethanol, and tree nuts. The larger question is what happens in 2022 should Chinese farmers harvest bumper crops this fall. Marketing year sales are already lagging that of this time last year. There will be no trade agreement to blame for being violated since it expires at the end of 2021. If sales are lower in 2022, the politic...
What You Need to Know Today: Commodities were mostly lower across the board today after yesterday’s Federal Reserve meeting hinted at a potential interest rate hike later in 2026. The dollar index reached its highest level in over a year, and a strong dollar makes U.S. agricultural expor...
Tomorrow is the Juneteenth federal holiday, and the USDA, along with the rest of the federal government and the CME, will be closed, so the monthly Cattle on Feed report was released a day early. The total number of cattle on feed in feedlots with 1,000 head or more capacity on 1 June amounted...
From WPI Consulting
Weighing in on strategic realignment
WPI’s team was retained by the governing board of a U.S. industry organization to review a decision, reached by vote, to invest significant assets into the development and management of an export trading company. WPI’s team conducted a formal review of this decision and concluded that the current level of market saturation would limit the benefits of the investment. Based on WPI’s analysis and recommended actions, the board subsequently reversed its decision and undertook a strategic planning effort to identify more impactful investments. On behalf of numerous clients, WPI has not only assisted in identifying strategic paths but also advised their implementation.