With considerable fanfare—and few specifics—USDA last week announced its Great American Cotton Plan for 2026-2031. Secretary Brooke Rollins and industry leaders described the initiative as a comprehensive strategy to address the persistent challenges facing U.S. cotton production, domestic textile manufacturing, and export competitiveness. The scope of the proposal is ambitious. Unlike earlier cotton programs that focused largely on supporting farm income, the new plan attempts to strengthen the entire supply chain through a mix of producer assistance, textile mill incentives, consumer promotion, and export development. Whether the announced measures can meaningfully alter the long-run economics of the cotton industry is a...
Man Behind the Curtain Hypocrisy is a feature and not a bug in politics, but it still deserves no mercy. EU trade minister Maros Sefcovic told Chinese Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang that Europe’s trade deficit with the Middle Kingdom is "unsustainable." He urged Li to address it even...
What You Need to Know Today: A case of New World Screwworm was detected in Texas, the first in the U.S. since 1966. With cases creeping closer to the U.S. border, it was only a matter of time. APHIS confirmed that larvae were detected in the umbilical area of a 3-week-old calf in Zavala County...
WPI recently completed an expansion of our methodology for estimating and forecasting U.S. and global soybean crushing margins. The new approach incorporates the energy market’s expanding influence on the oilseed sector and the structural changes in global biofuel demand. This report is i...
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.