The adage that “the devil is in the details” has been borne out twice in the past week. These instances involved USDA’s new GM labeling rule and the new hemp regulation. GM Labeling – Not included in these new USDA labeling strictures, which will begin a two-year phase-in period on 1 January 2020, is a requirement that highly-refined ingredients be indicated. This would include fats from vegetable oils such as corn and soybeans as well as sweeteners from sugar beets and corn fructose. Soybeans, corn, and sugar beets have an adoption rate of 90 percent or more when it comes to genetic modification. The same is true for cotton as oil crushed from its seeds is also used in food products. The most common use of these c...
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...
From WPI Consulting
Weighing in on strategic realignment
WPI’s team was retained by the governing board of a U.S. industry organization to review a decision, reached by vote, to invest significant assets into the development and management of an export trading company. WPI’s team conducted a formal review of this decision and concluded that the current level of market saturation would limit the benefits of the investment. Based on WPI’s analysis and recommended actions, the board subsequently reversed its decision and undertook a strategic planning effort to identify more impactful investments. On behalf of numerous clients, WPI has not only assisted in identifying strategic paths but also advised their implementation.