By now, the hustle and bustle and stress of the holiday season is behind us. You have probably spent weeks shopping, gift-giving, and visiting with friends and family – mostly time spent focusing on everyone else. Now, with the New Year upon us, it is time to focus on you. As we think of New Year’s resolutions, we naturally reflect on how we can better ourselves and contemplate changes to make that happen.Here are some tips for creating resolutions that prioritize your mental well-being:

The start of a new calendar year presents an opportunity for restaurant and retail operators to begin planning for the future, based on professional trend analysis and predictions. At Tribeca Oven, we frequently analyze and share data with our operator community so you can leverage trends to achieve continued growth. C.H. Guenther & Son’s Senior Insights Manager, Lindsey Murtaugh, is one of Tribeca Oven’s in-house experts who has helped us identify five bread trends for 2024 that you can use to shape your menu or buying planning for the year ahead.

Wheat prices extended their soft start to 2024, weighed by crop improvement in the top US growing state with European wheat exports witnessing competitive growth from increased Ukrainian grain exports. The US Department of Agriculture rated at 43% 'good' or 'excellent' the condition of winter wheat in the state of Kansas, up by nine points since the previous reading in late November. The rating in neighbouring Oklahoma rose too, by 14 points to 67%. While ratings for some smaller growing states, such as Colorado and Nebraska, eased from pre-winter levels, the improvement in Kansas, which is typically responsible for roughly one-quarter of US winter wheat output, provoked crop confidence and encouraged the removal of some risk premium.

Rising food prices in the past few years have prompted farmers around the world to grow more grains and oilseeds. However, consumers are expected to face tight food supplies in 2024. That is due to the occurrence of the El Niño phenomenon, export restrictions, and increased biofuel commitments. Analysts and traders stated that global prices for wheat, corn, and soybeans were heading for a decline in 2023. That comes after years of strong gains. The market is also facing fears of a global recession although prices remain vulnerable to supply shocks and food inflation in 2024.

Corn, wheat and soybeans closed out 2023 with steep declines after bumper harvests in Brazil and ongoing Black Sea trade lessened concerns about weather and war, Reuters reported. The most active corn contract closed down 31% over 2023, the steepest decline since 2013. Wheat fell 21% for the year while soybeans lost 15%. Grain and oilseeds are ending a run of several years of price gains due to harvest setbacks, the pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Reuters said.

High food prices in recent years have prompted farmers worldwide to plant more cereals and oilseeds, but consumers are set to face tighter supplies well into 2024, amid adverse El Nino weather, export restrictions and higher biofuel mandates. Global wheat, corn and soybean prices — after several years of strong gains — are headed for losses in 2023 on easing Black Sea bottlenecks and fears of a global recession, although prices remain vulnerable to supply shocks and food inflation in the New Year, analysts and traders said.

Attacks on ships in the Red Sea continue to push ocean freight rates higher, triggering warnings of inflation and delayed goods. To avoid strikes by Iran-backed Houthi militants based in Yemen, carriers have already diverted more than $200 billion in trade over the past several weeks away from the crucial Middle East trade route, which, along with the Suez Canal, connects the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean. This has created a multiple-front storm for global trade, according to logistics managers: Freight rates increasing daily, additional surcharges, longer shipping times, and the threat that spring and summer products will be late due to vessels arriving late in China as they travel the long way around South Africa's Cape of Good Hope.