Corn Planting Area to Rise 2 Percent in 2012, Soy Area to Drop 11 Percent A Chinese Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) survey and analysis of 2012 planting intentions forecasts that land used for corn planting will rise 2.1 percent this year to 35 million hectares. MoA projects the soybean planting area will decline for the third straight year, sliding 11.2 percent to under 7 million hectares. Meanwhile, the area devoted to wheat planting will be roughly unchanged at 24.2 million hectares.Recent comments from agricultural officials in Heilongjiang, which accounts for 40 percent of total soy output, underscore that persistent rising returns for corn this year are quickening the shift away from soy. In the current crop year, soybean returns per m...
Key Takeaways: President Trump announced $8 billion in additional agricultural assistance through the Harvest Fuel Relief Program, as USDA projects farm fuel and oil expenses will increase 28.8 percent in 2026. The package follows $12 billion in earlier relief, while government farm payments w...
Key Takeaways: A student group from the University of Chicago is protesting to bring back onion futures trading. Trading in onion futures was banned in 1958 following a spectacular bout of market manipulation that resulted in a corner of the physical market. The ban on onion futures led t...
Beef packer margins deteriorated to $141/head last week, down $55 from the prior week as fed cattle prices strengthened while the Choice cutout remained nearly unchanged. The cutout held near $373/cwt while fed cattle prices climbed $4/cwt to $224/cwt, narrowing processor profits. Despite the d...
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.