There are two analytical common threads dominating discussions of the world’s 2018/19 crop cycle thus far. One is the rather spectacular tightening of the world wheat supply/demand outlook, and the other is President Trump’s attacks on the current structure of world trade. Some might argue that his frequently shifting views and positions on bilateral trade and multilateral trade agreements as well as his scattergun use of higher tariffs on a wide variety of U.S. imports, especially those from China, defy analysis. Perhaps so, but no one can deny that the U.S. has shaken up established world trade protocols in the last 18 months and has made relations with a significant number of its erstwhile trading partners very testy. Politi...
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.
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...