Pork Problems Bloomberg reports that surplus stocks of pork meat are piling up in Europe and especially in Germany as an outbreak of African Swine Fever has locked suppliers out of important export markets. Pig prices are reportedly down 40 percent since March and carcass values are the lowest since 2016. Moreover, it could be another year before disease management will enable exports to resume. However, the larger threat to the industry may be the rise of the Green Party in Germany. The Greens have the opportunity to win control of the government in elections in 2021 and in the past has been a proponent of policies such as the meat-free veggie days at the country’s canteens. Separately, organized labor and other groups are protesti...
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.
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...