Nonfarm investors might benefit from diversifying their portfolios by investing in the agricultural sector. Such diversifying investments could include investments in agricultural stocks or long-only futures positions through index funds. The papers in this session investigate the...

Two methods were used to estimate the cost of forward contracting hard red winter wheat. One hundred days before delivery, the estimated cost of forward contracting ranged from six cents/bu. To eight cents/bu. Thus, further evidence is provided that the cost of forward contracting grain is not zero.

In an inverted market, current prices are higher than future prices and thus the price of storage is negative. Market inversions as measured with futures spreads rarely occur during early months of the crop year. However, market inversions frequently occur across crop years and near the end of...