Agricultural producers have used futures markets to manage price risk, confident that 1) cash and futures prices move together over time, 2) cash and futures prices converge as the contract approaches expiration, and 3) funds held in margin accounts as a performance bond were secure in...

Prices for Choice and Select grade fed cattle are derived from wholesale and retail beef markets. Choice-Select price discounts are a key component of fed cattle pricing, whether packers purchase fed cattle on a live weight, dressed weight, or grid. This study identifies supply, demand, and...

Replaced with revised version of paper 06/04/09.

Reduced reliance on cash market prices for fed cattle and hogs raise questions about the role of cash prices in price discovery. We use seven years of weekly data from mandatory price reports to determine whether or not cash market prices are cointegrated with other procurement prices and then...

A probabilistic financial model was developed to assess the economic feasibility of energy-cane-based hydrolysis ethanol production. At an expected price of $1.97/gallon and no tax credit, the chances of a positive NPV were 70%. By slightly increasing feedstock and ethanol yields by 5 units, the...