Farm Income Fails Poor William Savedoff of the Center for Global Development notes that evaluations of farmer training programs funded by the Millennium Challenge Corporation indicate training was successful, improved cultivation occurred and in some cases farm income was improved, but poverty rates remained unchanged. He argued that the data was too narrow and needs to take account of commodity price fluctuations. However, it could also be that one farmer's gain is another's loss. The fact remains: Too much labor in the sector is a burden to all. The goal should be to move the excess labor into industry and services. Cost of Kicking the Can Woe is me -- the grand bargain on the U.S. fiscal cliff is too complicated. The options include...
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
Infrastructure investment due diligence
On behalf of a Canadian oilseed processer WPI's team provided market analysis, econometric modeling and financial due diligence in support of a $24 million-dollar investment in a Ukrainian crush plant. Consistent with WPI's findings, local production to supply the plant and the facility's output have expanded exponentially since the investment. WPI has conducted parallel work on behalf of U.S., South American and European clients, both private and public, in the agri-food space.