EU chief negotiator on Brexit Michel Barnier says there will be no trade deal with Britain if London decides to impose weaker regulations than the Continent. This effectively means no trade agreement. Competition and Dairy Production Having studied the relationship between the country’s milk producers and processors, Germany’s anti-monopoly office (Bundeskartellamt) is calling for a more pro-competitive process. At present, farmers have long-term, exclusive supply contracts with dairies, and they find out the price of their milk based on reference prices and the supply/demand situation at the time. The current system removes some of the volatility and thus provides more certainty to both sides in the transaction. Making the system more “p...
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.
With considerable fanfare—and few specifics—USDA last week announced its Great American Cotton Plan for 2026-2031. Secretary Brooke Rollins and industry leaders described the initiative as a comprehensive strategy to address the persistent challenges facing U.S. cotton production, d...