So far this month, two notable announcements were made about new beef packing capacity. These come after much of 2020 saw criticism about the nature of the packing sector and much of 2021 saw calls from producers and the Biden Administration about building new capacity, including a $500 million grant program for small packers that was announced last year, and again in January of this year. First, in early August, there was Producer Owned Beef announcing its plans for a plant in Amarillo, Texas. The timeline is to break ground in Q1 2023 and to begin operations in Q4 2025. It’s a $670 million new facility that will be producer owned, with management from Consolidated Beef Producers marketing cooperative. According to the company...
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.