The International Grains Council (IGC) announced that it will include pulses in its definition of grains and expand market information on these products. Trade in pulses has been increasing as they grow in stature as a staple food and plant-based protein. The pod-based seeds of the legume family come in a variety of shapes and colors, and increasingly serve the role of sustainability. The UN got so excited it created the International Year of Pulses. They are viewed as inexpensive, easy to store, nutrient-dense and can be grown in a variety of climates. Although trade in dried peas took off in 2020, this year growth has seen stronger growth in dried beans. Governments have begun subsidizing pulses as a new superfood, but also with th...
What You Need to Know Today: Tensions in the Middle East escalated over the weekend with Iran demanding the U.S. make multiple concessions that are likely non-starters before traffic can flow through the Strait of Hormuz again. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, and Turkey signed a mutual defense agreeme...
Senator John Boozman (R-Arkansas) has urged farmers to apply pressure on the failed farm bill during the August recess. His intent is to hold another vote on the legislation as soon as possible upon the Senate’s return from a five-week break on 14 September. From a parliamentary perspecti...
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.