A number of developing factors over the past several weeks suggest that the 2017/18 crop cycle will be different across the globe.Major common threads for world agricultural production, trade and crop prices during the last four crop cycles were growing production and building global stocks. Those of wheat, corn and soybeans all reached record levels during this period, aided and abetted by generally favorable worldwide weather conditions. U.S. production and stocks mirrored this trend and were an integral part of it. Another less discussed common thread was the rising demand, which also reached record levels despite the long uptrend of the U.S. dollar. Even so, demand did not grow enough to forestall significant multi-year stock building...
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.