Iran is seizing foreign-flagged vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, and the U.S. is shooting down drones in the region. Analysts say that Tehran is intentionally driving up oil prices to obtain global pushback against the American sanctions that are crippling the Iranian economy. They also warn that attacking shipping in the region will cause an increase in contracted freight rates due to the hike in insurance war risk premia. During past periods of high-level geopolitical tension in the region, the London-based War Risks Rating Committee allowed that premium to nearly double. However, the threat to tanker rates does not appear to have carried over to the bulkers that would be carrying grain. In fact, the charts below show little change...
Total Red Meat & Poultry September 2026 total red meat and poultry stocks totaled 1.97 billion pounds, down 1.4 percent from August despite typically increasing 0.8 percent during the month, and were 1.5 percent below September 2025 levels. The decline pushed total inventories to a new five...
What You Need to Know Today: New World screwworm is back in the headlines after new cases were found in a hunter-harvested elk in Texas and a beef cow in New Mexico. The detection in wildlife could further complicate containment efforts, as implementing effective biosecurity measures is consid...
Cattle on Feed Expectations USDA’s monthly Cattle on Feed report that will show cattle inventory statistics as of 1 October will be released tomorrow, 23 October. Analysts’ pre-report consensus estimates are for the total inventory on feed to be 100.3 percent of last year, which imp...
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.