One common thread running through part of the history of grain trading has been the subject of federally set limits on the size of positions that a trader could hold in grain and oilseed futures and options. On 15 October, the CFTC finally approved a new rule regarding commodity position limits. Here’s a look at how we got here and what it means for agriculture. During the 1930’s Great Depression crop prices were low enough that many farms went under. Some farmers complained that rampant speculation in grain futures contracts traded on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) and other exchanges were depressing crop prices. Thus, in 1936 Congress passed legislation creating the Commodity Exchange Authority (CEA) as an agency of USDA t...
From WPI Consulting
Illuminating the value of technical research
On behalf of a commodity producer organization, WPI evaluated the outputs from a project that featured a $5 million investment into technical research over multiple years. WPI’s team captured the results of this extensive effort and synthesized them for presentation to the organization’s governing board; among the findings uncovered and presented for the first time was the development of genomic traits proven, via rigorous testing, to provide crop yield advantages of 50 percent or more to U.S. farmers in times of drought. Capturing measurable results from long-term efforts can be challenging. Educating clients on the dynamics of success measurement when quantifiable results are not readily available requires deep client-consultant collaboration and an ability to consider both near- and long-term client aspirations with market/policy dynamics – attributes that WPI brings to every consulting engagement.