It’s a tough time to be in the hog and pig business. California’s Proposition 12 was upheld by the Supreme Court, and with that decision, Massachusetts Question 3 which prescribes similar standards for sow housing, was also green-lighted. Massachusetts was holding off implementation until the Court ruled on the California case. That puts somewhere between 15 and 17 percent of U.S. pork consumption under rules that require expanded sow houses, which come with substantial cost. That impact arguably is moving up stream to feeder pig and sow prices. Feeder pig prices typically follow a seasonal pattern, dropping during the summer months. This year, the drop has already started. Feeder pig prices last week were $22.05 per head for 1...
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
Communicating importance of value-added products
Facing increasing pressure to quantify the value of export promotion efforts to investors, a U.S. industry organization retained WPI to develop a quantitative model that better communicated the importance of exports. The resulting model concluded that value-added meat exports contributed $0.45 cents per bushel to the price of corn, increasing support for that sector’s financial support of WPI’s client. In addition to serving the red meat industry with this type of analysis, WPI has generated similar deliverables for the U.S. soybean and poultry/egg industries.