Per USDA’s annual Cattle Inventory report, the total number of cattle and calves in the U.S. as of 1 January was at its lowest point in more than 70 years. Moreover, this was the sixth consecutive year of smaller cattle inventory since 2019. There was a reduction at virtually every level of the cattle supply compared to the beginning of the year levels in 2024, including cows and heifers that have calved, heifers 500 pounds and heavier, including other heifers not for replacement, steers 500 pounds and heavier, calves under 500 pounds, and the 2024 calf crop. Combing the totals of calves under 500 pounds, non-replacement heifers, and steers over 500 pounds, quantifies the number of feeder cattle located outside of feedlots, whic...
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
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.