Deft Farm Bill Maneuvering: House Agriculture Committee Chairman Frank Lucas (R-Oklahoma) was obligated to reconcile agriculture spending in accord with the House-passed budget resolution. To avoid putting his fellow Republicans on record in an election year, he orchestrated a voice vote only in support of cutting all $33 billion in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) spending. Then he proceeded to schedule a series of hearings next month on the 2012 Farm Bill. Essentially, he shifted pressure to the Senate Agriculture Committee, which will move to actually writing the farm bill next week, in terms of how much money is cut from commodity programs (the Senate leans toward -$19 billion), and gave opponents of any Senate plan a...
Key Takeaways: President Trump announced $8 billion in additional agricultural assistance through the Harvest Fuel Relief Program, as USDA projects farm fuel and oil expenses will increase 28.8 percent in 2026. The package follows $12 billion in earlier relief, while government farm payments w...
Key Takeaways: A student group from the University of Chicago is protesting to bring back onion futures trading. Trading in onion futures was banned in 1958 following a spectacular bout of market manipulation that resulted in a corner of the physical market. The ban on onion futures led t...
Beef packer margins deteriorated to $141/head last week, down $55 from the prior week as fed cattle prices strengthened while the Choice cutout remained nearly unchanged. The cutout held near $373/cwt while fed cattle prices climbed $4/cwt to $224/cwt, narrowing processor profits. Despite the d...
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.