EPA issued a proposed rule on 1 March to provide a waiver of the Clean Air Act that would permit E15 use, through the summer months, in eight Midwestern states. However, the proposed EPA rule – if finalized - wouldn’t take effect until 2024, and thus won’t apply to the summer of 2023. The intention of the rule was well received, but missing the deadline is a major disappointment to the ethanol and corn sectors. That timeline actually sets E15 back; in April of 2022 the Biden EPA issued a one-year emergency waiver to allow year-round E15 in part to reduce retail gasoline prices. That waiver was in response to supply chain disruptions, the war in Ukraine and other factors leading to higher fuel prices at the pump. Aga...
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.
The corn and soy complex closed higher, with the wheat market mixed, as winter wheat closed up but spring wheat and livestock ended lower. Part of the strength for corn and soybeans may have been a weather premium, as crop planting has started out fast but warm weather has been slow to develop...
Real GDP grew at a 2 percent annual rate in the first quarter of 2026, slightly below the consensus expectation of 2.3 percent but above the 0.5 percent growth in Q4 2025. The GDP number matches the average annualized pace of growth since the peak back in late 2007, right before the Financial P...
Reflect for a moment on what you eat. There is a lot of advice out there in the ether about what you should eat, but really, what do you currently eat and how much? The good people at the USDA have some data for you, to help you answer that question. USDA says that we eat quite a bit of meat. L...