What value – or desired price – have you set for your pigs?

Lean hogs futures are a common whipping boy when hog markets are low or just disappointing relative to expectations. The latter is a good descriptor of this summer so allegations of nefarious behavior or just complaints about structural issues that make the lean hogs contract less useful are common at present. Add in fund positions that appear to have more and more influence on price movements and some question just what this futures contract does for the pork industry as a whole and pork producers in particular.  Such questioning is healthy provided it is based on facts.  So let’s consider a few issues and the facts that should inform our response to them. Issue No. 1:  Lean hogs futures contact much more volatile than it once was I hear this all the time and must admit that I believed it to be true. One reason for the apparent volatility is larger price change limits that simply allow market conditions to move prices further in one day’s trading that once was allowed. But as with