The House Agriculture Subcommittee on Livestock, Dairy and Poultry held a hearing yesterday, entitled "A Review of Animal Agriculture Stakeholder Priorities.” There was a clear consensus on two key issues among cattle, pork, and turkey producers as well as the packers and processors. First, all oppose the Administration’s new Packers and Stockyards Act regulatory proposals; as WPI has written previously, USDA announced a suite of three proposed rules, two of which have been published. As noted by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (NCBA), the rules stem from the 2008 farm bill, and have been proposed in 2010, 2012, and again in 2016. A rule was adopted in 2020, taking effect in 2021, but USDA has re-proposed change...
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...
Key Market Insights Geopolitical Limbo: Geopolitical risk remained a key driver across global commodity markets today. President Trump stated that the Iran memorandum of understanding is not yet final and warned that military action could resume if negotiations fail. Both sides continue w...
From WPI Consulting
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.