President Obama's FY 2013 budget resolution includes new user fee programs that would support applying key elements of the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA). This is in the form of a food facility registration fee to fund agency activities required by the FSMA. If authorized by Congress, FDA projects that the user fees would collect $220 million in FY 2013 from food producers, makers and distributors.The FSMA user fee is the latest in a long line of user fees that have been proposed for more than 30 years, dating back to the Reagan Administration. There is almost always a proposed user fee for the Food Safety Inspection Service (FSIS). The Obama budget has it and the Reagan budget had it. In fact, there are a lot of fees in this year's...
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
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.