The Federal Reserve has released it Beige Book summary of economic conditions around the country. Prominent was the plight of the ag economy, specifically deteriorating cash flow, credit payments and investment spending. Meanwhile, recent economic data together with the uncertain trade situation cloud up the crystal ball in terms of forecasts for the general economy. There have been several notable developments. - The April trade deficit was down to $50.8 billion from $51.9 billion in March. The drop was on both sides of the ledger sheet (i.e., reduced exports and imports). Exports were at their lowest monthly total in three years, but half of the decline was due to a drop in aircraft orders for Boeing due to the safety concerns over its 7...
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
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.