It is now well into the second month of the partial government shutdown, and the blackout of the usual information from USDA continues. The only regular report still coming out is the weekly one from FGIS on the volumes of grain and soybeans inspected for export. This is made possible only by the fact that FGIS grain inspectors are vital personnel and therefore still working. Last week FGIS inspected for export 43.6 million bushels of corn, 40.8 million bushels of soybeans and 18.9 million bushels of wheat. For their respective 2018/19 crop years, export inspections for corn are at 810 million bushels, up 61 percent over a year ago. Soybean inspections total 717 million bushels, down 41 percent, and wheat inspections stand at 515 billion bu...
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.