ABSTRACT Cointegration was tested between organic and conventional corn and soybean markets in several locations throughout the U.S. using a unique dataset. Organic prices were found to behave like pure jump processes rather than diffusions. A simple specification for pure jump processes is...

Soybean futures spreads in the 1948-1997 period are evaluated for the associated monetary risks inherent in multiyear hedge-to-arrive contracts (HTAs). For all years, the probability of having a negative old crop-new crop spread is approximately 75%. However, the high-price years have a 100%...

This report lays out the economic arguments in favor of the establishment of farmer-owned brands in Midwestern agriculture and presents four case studies based on successful efforts in this area in the European Union and the United States. The case studies involve Parma Ham, Brunello di...

This study examines possible causes for the poor performance that has characterized the forward pricing and hedging practices used by participants in meat processing and merchandising operations. Alternative methods of managing price risk or meat merchandisers are presented and evaluated. The...