Battle Over Scale Catherine Badgley, a University of Michigan ecologist, says she envisions a U.S. shift from fewer large farms to many small farms -- and thus higher priced food by 2050, assuming farm subsidies are shifted to encourage this vision. It seems unlikely the public will want to spend subsidies in order to obtain higher priced food.Meanwhile, the Nikkei posted a story taking to task the Japanese government's flawed and contradictory approach to moving that country's farming in the opposite direction: toward larger units of production. The article states that the effort to increase farm scale from an average of 2 hectares to 20-30 hectares has gone nowhere as a result "ever-changing rule and seemingly contradictory programs."...
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.