President Trump says that the Chinese asked to resume negotiations, but nothing is publicly scheduled, and the Chinese foreign ministry says it knows nothing about it. If this is a fib by the President, Beijing will interpret it as reflecting vulnerability. That vulnerability is emphasized by current events. While surveys now indicate that the American public is giving Mr. Trump less credit for the economy and his support from farmers is falling, China is about to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the communist party. At minimum these mean no near-term solution to the trade war, but the larger war outcome remains uncertain. For example, it is unclear that Mr. Trump losing in 2020 will bring an end to the trade fight. Democratic Part...
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.