Last Friday (see WPI 6 January), we wrote about the role that nutrition will play in the upcoming farm bill. Today, we take a closer look at nutrition spending. As we have heard many times in late 2011, Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participation hit an all-time high last year with 44.7 million recipients. According to a Congressional Budget Office (CBO) analysis, HR 1 -- the stimulus bill known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) passed in 2009 -- through fiscal year 2011has spent about $494 billion, $20 billion (4 percent) higher than CBO's original estimate. Of that $20 billion, $11.3 billion is from USDA, and virtually all is spending under SNAP.Much of the inference has been that the SNAP program gro...
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.