Local Sham Reprise USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack, proving you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, is back with a reprise of the Eat Local mantra he cheer-led during the Obama years. Citing broken supply chains during COVID, he is spending $400 million to create the Food System Transformation Framework, which includes Regional Food Business Centers to coordinate (command and control) the redirection of the industry toward small and local. Never mind that there has been no USDA study of “a problem” or the feasibility of this over-priced and barreling “solution.” The populist anti-Big Ag activists on the left think this makes intuitive sense. At Penn State where researchers have actually researched the situati...
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
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.