This week, I have been making my annual pilgrimage to Minnesota to participate in five farmers' meetings organized by the state's main farm radio network. The meetings are held each year in Alexandria, Willmar, Marshall, Mankato and Owatonna, which are located across the key corn and soybean production areas of southern Minnesota. Attendance at the meetings has been phenomenal, and by the end of the week I suspect a total of about 1,500 farmers will have attended. The attendees are not retirees, but mostly large, commercial farmers who grow a sizable share of the corn and soybeans in the region. Also in attendance have been some input suppliers, merchants and bankers. I have been participating in the seminars annually for a decade, as the...
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.