Extension marketing economists were surveyed to determine whether they are using available research results and whether research is being conducted on topics relevant to extension marketing economists. In some cases, the beliefs of extension marketing economists differ from recent research...

Most new futures contracts fail. This study estimates the effects of several factors on the success or failure of agricultural futures contracts. Commodities with futures markets and without futures markets are included. Characteristics for which no data exist, such as homogeneity, vertical...

The Hennessy and Wahl model of optimal grain blending and segregation (GBS) is extended to the case where it is not possible to separate components within a load. Analytical solutions are not available when segregation is the optimal strategy, and so solutions are obtained with nonlinear...

This article determines the effect of rounding (pointing-off) of grade percentages to the nearest whole number on the probability distribution of regrading in the peanut industry. Results show that rounding causes graders to have to regrade an extra 4% of samples even when they follow all...

Neural network models were compared to traditional forecasting methods in forecasting the quarterly and monthly farm price of hogs. A quarterly neural network model forecasted poorly in comparison to a quarterly econometric model. A monthly neural network model outperformed a monthly ARIMA model...

A new paradigm is needed in extension marketing programs. Attempts to help producers time the market, either through cask sales or futures trading, appear to be of little benefit. Marketing extension programs need to place less emphasis on outlook and futures trading and more emphasis on simple...

The storage-at-a-loss paradox—stocks despite inadequate price growth to cover storage costs—is an unresolved issue of long-standing interest to economists. Alternative explanations include risk premiums for futures market speculators, convenience yields from holding stocks, and...

The theory of contrary opinion predicts price reversals following extremes in market sentiment. This research tests a survey-based sentiment index's usefulness as a contrary indicator across 28 U.S. futures markets. Using rigorous time-series tests, the sentiment index displays only a sporadic...