World Perspectives

Third Way Sought

Economists are debating the current geopolitical hand that has been dealt, and how best to play it. President Biden has made a major shift toward government directed self-sufficiency in critical minerals, automation, and decarbonation where validity gets hotly debate. At the same time, he has embraced protectionism and unionization, both inflationary concepts. But their choices in Europe are also controversial.  The European system of health care and pensions boosted longevity, and the energy efficiency efforts have been world leading. At the same time, compound annual GDP growth in the U.S. has been three times faster. The mix of high taxes, labor unions, high unemployment and energy dependence on Russia have been a drag. Now the Con...

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soy-oilseeds

Thailand Soy Tariffs Update

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livestock

Livestock Industry Margins

Beef packer margins remained deeply negative, with estimated net losses at -$185/head, little changed from the prior week. Rising boxed beef values continued to lag gains in fed cattle prices, keeping gross margins compressed despite incremental support from carcass weights and drop values. Rel...

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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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