Where's the Beef? USDA's semi-annual beef cattle survey for January 2013 shows that the beef herd in January 2014 will be about 1.5 percent smaller than it was last month. Last year's drought increased demand for slaughter cattle by about 1 percent over 2011; fed cattle and cull cow prices hit record highs for the third consecutive year and look to be even higher this year. Absent another drought or other feed cost shocks, these high prices should slow slaughter and lead to herd rebuilding, but that is a longer-term trend that is unlikely to impact feed demand for two to three years.According to USDA: All cattle and calves in the United States as of 1 January 2013 totaled 89.3 million head, 2 percent below the 90.8 million on 1 Januar...
Key Takeaways: Brazil confirmed a Newcastle disease outbreak at a commercial turkey farm in Santa Catarina on 18 October, raising concerns about potential disruptions to poultry exports despite the outbreak being confined to a single facility thus far. Mexico and Malaysia have imposed nationwi...
Yesterday, Alberta held a referendum on whether to begin the process toward independence from Canada. With more than one million votes counted as of early Tuesday morning, around 77 percent supported remaining in Canada, and 23 percent voted to start the process of separation, according to unof...
Mediterranean/Middle East/North Africa/Africa – MEA Region Pakistan’s smaller wheat farmers have been holding protests to complain about the lack of a support price for wheat and the potential expansion of GMO crop production. They also want the reinstatement of PASSCO, the governme...
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.