Rarely has a new commodity provided such interest and optimism as hemp, but as the regulatory framework slowly catches up to the market’s hopefulness, things are turning bearish for the whole sector. According to the Group Vote Hemp, in 2017, there were about 25,713 acres of hemp; in 2018 that increased to 78,176 acres. Based on state registration data in 2019, there are 561,577 acres (and an additional 166,616,212 square feet of greenhouse space) registered to legally grow hemp – a more than 620 percent increase compared to last year. Production started under the 2014 Farm Bill, which allowed for qualified research projects of hemp production, and culminated in Section 12619 of the Agricultural Improve...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
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.