Last week was a very volatile week for biofuels policy. The president said the administration is very close to approving a year-round waiver for E15 as well as a two-year measure to relieve high prices of Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs). Reports also emerged that Senator John Cornyn’s (R-TX) efforts at legislation to reform the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) continue to move forward and may address exemptions for small refineries. Meanwhile, the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on the Environment held a hearing on the role of high-octane fuels (HOF). The refinery industry’s reaction to the president’s comments on E15 were swift and strong. The American Petroleum Institute (API) stated that it "plans to consid...
What You Need to Know Today: After a period of limited activity, USDA reported a sizeable 613 KMT in soybean export sales, including 330 KMT to China and 283 KMT to unknown destinations, potentially also China. The purchases represent a meaningful pickup in demand and bring China closer to ful...
Key Takeaways: Consumer spending is a key driver of the U.S. economy, and the latest retail sales data indicate that spending remains robust despite inflation. In September, total retail and food service sales rose more than 6 percent year-over-year, with food service spending up 7 percent and...
The Trump import plan for 300,000 MT of beef supplies used for ground beef, i.e., lean trim, from September through November has, according to Secretary Brooke Rollins, brought some relief to beef prices. The Executive Order states that the Secretary of Agriculture will analyze and review the m...
From WPI Consulting
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.