It seemed clear at the start of the day that this a weather market, and that today’s WASDE would contain few surprises. For the most part that remained true after the report was released and yet some things are inexplicable. For example, the corn crop is threated by hot and dry weather, the Chinese purchased the largest amount of U.S. corn sold in one swoop in 26 years, the WASDE cut projected corn production and ending stocks and raised the projected average price, and yet corn contracts were bid lower today. Huh? On the one hand, China buying U.S. corn when it could have paid less for product from the Black Sea or South America proves their commitment to Phase One purchases – that is bullish. On the other hand, Black Se...
What You Need to Know Today: Russia rejected calls for a ceasefire in the Black Sea, including a proposal to halt attacks on civilian shipping that could help restore grain flows from Ukrainian ports. Tyson Foods announced plans to permanently close its Joslin, Illinois, beef processing facili...
The big news in the cattle markets yesterday was Tyson Foods’ move to close two more beef plants. One of them, the Joslin, Illinois, plant was shuttered immediately after the announcement. The other, in Eagle Mountain, Utah, is a case-ready plant that does not slaughter cattle. Tyson also...
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released the Consumer Price Index (CPI) on Wednesday. In July, the CPI rose 0.1 percent, seasonally adjusted, and rose 3.4 percent over the last 12 months, not seasonally adjusted. The index for all items less food and energy, or the “core” infla...
From WPI Consulting
Accountability and a comprehensive approach to export programming
WPI’s team helped construct a strategic approach to develop, implement, and track promotional activities in 8 key regions across the globe for an agricultural export association. With continued progress measurement and strategic advisory services from WPI, the association has seen its ROI from investments in promotional programming increase by 44 percent over the past 5 years. Not only does this type of holistic approach to organizational strategy provide measurable results to track and analyze, it fosters top-down and bottom-up organizational accountability.