World Perspectives

Trump’s Realpolitik; Tariff Reality; Farmer Gerontology

Trump’s Realpolitik Peter Thiel and others have said they backed Mr. Trump for the presidency not as ideal governance, but as a disruptor of a stagnant system, someone to clear out the sclerotic elites clinging to their benefits. The U.S. president and his realpolitik has prompted every nation to rethink their strategic positions in pragmatic terms. Brussels was slow to come around, but Europe has now committed to 5 percent defense spending as a share of GDP. And Brussels is nearing completion of a transatlantic agreement on tariffs. Perhaps reluctantly, but even EU trade negotiator Maroš Šefčovič characterizes it as a rebalancing.  While some U.S. trading partners are accepting the unpleasant, the Canadians are sti...

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Jul 26 Corn closed at $4.635/bushel, down $0.0025 from yesterday's close.  Jul 26 Wheat closed at $6.1675/bushel, down $0.035 from yesterday's close.  Jul 26 Soybeans closed at $11.785/bushel, up $0.0375 from yesterday's close.  Jul 26 Soymeal closed at $319.1/short ton, up $2.6...

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Market Commentary: Mixed Week and a Mixed Outlook

This is the limbo period between the expectations and reality of a new crop going into the ground. Prices gyrate in a narrow range, awaiting something more definitive than planting “intentions.” The bears see a planting pace off to a quick start, the bulls see ground that in many pl...

Kevin Warsh’s Confirmation Hearings and Policy Directions

Kevin Warsh, formerly a member of the Federal Reserve Board, has been nominated by President Trump to be the Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Trump has long been critical of current Chair Jerome Powell, even opening a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation into the handling of cost overruns...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

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Jul 26 Corn closed at $4.635/bushel, down $0.0025 from yesterday's close.  Jul 26 Wheat closed at $6.1675/bushel, down $0.035 from yesterday's close.  Jul 26 Soybeans closed at $11.785/bushel, up $0.0375 from yesterday's close.  Jul 26 Soymeal closed at $319.1/short ton, up $2.6...

feed-grains soy-oilseeds wheat

Market Commentary: Mixed Week and a Mixed Outlook

This is the limbo period between the expectations and reality of a new crop going into the ground. Prices gyrate in a narrow range, awaiting something more definitive than planting “intentions.” The bears see a planting pace off to a quick start, the bulls see ground that in many pl...

Kevin Warsh’s Confirmation Hearings and Policy Directions

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E15: What Does It Mean?

Previous administrations—including that of President Donald Trump—have promoted domestic consumption of corn and soybeans through expanded biofuel mandates and subsidies. The original framework for this policy was the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, which required the...

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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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