The Senate is back in session today, and the House returns tomorrow. Congress will deal with unfinished legislative matters, but the administration also has several key issues to settle before the end of CY 2018. Appropriations - The federal government is operating under a short-term funding authorization that expires 7 December. Congress must pass the full FY 2019 appropriations to avoid a partial shutdown, which would include USDA. To date, both the House and Senate have passed five of the 12 regular appropriations bills, but those for USDA and FDA are not among them. As a result, the Defense, Health and Human Services, Labor, Education, and Veterans Affairs Departments are funded through 30 September 2019. The most likely path forward...
What You Need to Know Today: After a period of limited activity, USDA reported a sizeable 613 KMT in soybean export sales, including 330 KMT to China and 283 KMT to unknown destinations, potentially also China. The purchases represent a meaningful pickup in demand and bring China closer to ful...
Key Takeaways: Consumer spending is a key driver of the U.S. economy, and the latest retail sales data indicate that spending remains robust despite inflation. In September, total retail and food service sales rose more than 6 percent year-over-year, with food service spending up 7 percent and...
The Trump import plan for 300,000 MT of beef supplies used for ground beef, i.e., lean trim, from September through November has, according to Secretary Brooke Rollins, brought some relief to beef prices. The Executive Order states that the Secretary of Agriculture will analyze and review the m...
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.