Jurisdictional Competence This week agriculture ministers from 16 EU countries sent a letter complaining that too many legislative issues impacting agriculture are being decided by environment ministers and without the input of those with expertise in farming. Brussels might look at the ways that U.S. policymaking addresses such feared imbalances. In the U.S. Congress, committees can ask for sequential referral on legislation that overlaps committee portfolios. In the Executive Branch, White House officials often broker negotiations between agencies on cross-jurisdictional issues. Staff expertise in the White House is broad and Congress mandated a specific advisor on agriculture be appointed. Agencies themselves make efforts towards more b...
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...
The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) enters its mandated six-year review on 1 July. The original intent of the review is outlined in Article 34.7, which obligates members to: Provide recommendations and decide on appropriate actions. Extend the USMCA for another 16 years and meet aga...
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.