World Perspectives
livestock

South Korean Beef Supply

South Korea imposed increased inspection requirements on U.S> supplied beef following the finding of an atypical BSE case in South Carolina. Atypical cases occur spontaneously and, importantly, rarely. The U.S. remains in the category of being a negligible risk for BSE according to World Organization for Animal Health criteria and therefore it should not change trade related measures. However, beef imports in countries like South Korea are a highly political matter and officials felt compelled to take some form of action. While South Korea’s beef imports have grown and now represent over half of domestic market consumption, its own production has increased despite the onslaught. A similar dynamic has occurred in Japan where import...

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livestock

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livestock

The Strange Effects of Screwworm

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From WPI Consulting

Illuminating the value of technical research

On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.

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