Shutdown Informs USMCA The current U.S. government shutdown not only delays the U.S. International Trade Commission’s analysis of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) but signals its potential demise. Our prior analysis concluded that because USMCA improves labor union goals, it would be difficult for congressional Democrats to vote against it. However, it can be argued that the current government shutdown defies that same group’s self-interest, and yet their position persists. The cost of the shutdown greatly exceeds the 0.1 percent of federal spending sought by the White House for border wall/barrier funding. Labor unions are a core Democratic base, and government workers are the largest share of organized labor. No one...
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.