Organization for Competitive Markets

by Eric Nelson For grain and livestock producers without some kind of marketing agreement with a packer or end user, the CME Group in Chicago offers alternatives for producers to hedge their production, without signing marketing agreements that give the power of supply control to the packer or end user. These agreements work as a relief valve in times of market supply shortages and allow end users to call in…

Anita Poole-Endsley Executive Director In centuries past, Spanish Conquistadors searched for the famed city of El Dorado. El Dorado was rumored to be made of gold where riches abounded. El Dorado was never found, and may have never existed except in the minds of those hoping to satisfy their urges for financial security. Such is the quest for a farm bill in 2012. Agricultural producers are searching for an answer…

smallbigpdf Livestock economists who look only at cash movement and do not analyze profitability outcome sometimes conclude that the effect of market power and captive supplies is “small”. They dismiss this “small” impact lightly, but ignore the fact that the impact they concede is the difference between profit and loss – the economic equivalent of the difference between life and death. The “small” impact of market power and captive supplies…