As of this afternoon, there are more than 100 amendments filed on the farm bill with more than 200 in the drafting/planning stages. Committee leadership convened a meeting at 4 p.m. today to discuss the process moving forward. One of the unsettled issues is the nature of the amendments. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nevada) wants to limit the amendments to germane topics, but Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) says that since the farm bill is a priority bill -- attaching other issues is key to getting them considered yet this year. We made reference to that yesterday with regard to Senator John McCain's (R-Arizona) amendment to exempt defense spending from sequestration. By taking his position, Reid has a balancing a...
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
Infrastructure investment due diligence
On behalf of a Canadian oilseed processer WPI's team provided market analysis, econometric modeling and financial due diligence in support of a $24 million-dollar investment in a Ukrainian crush plant. Consistent with WPI's findings, local production to supply the plant and the facility's output have expanded exponentially since the investment. WPI has conducted parallel work on behalf of U.S., South American and European clients, both private and public, in the agri-food space.