Since WPI’s July update on cow-calf margins, expected 2024 returns for producers have shifted lower but remain well above year-ago values and near record highs. WPI’s models indicate that revenue for the “average” Southern Plains (i.e., Kansas) cow-calf operation will hit $1,626/cow-unit this year, which would be an all-time high if realized. That forecast is down $125/cow-unit from our July outlook due to the late-summer correction in feeder cattle prices and a recent downturn in cull cow values. The revenue forecast is also 17 percent lower than what was predicted in September 2023 but decreases in feed and other costs have pushed total profitability higher. One reason the revenue forecasts have been so impr...
Key Market Insights The broad market is locked in on this week’s Trump-Xi meeting in Beijing, but this is no longer just a trade summit. Increasingly, the meeting is becoming tied directly to Iran, energy security, and the growing global economic fallout from disruptions through the Strai...
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.