The statistical forecasting efficiency of new crop corn and soybean futures is the topic of frequent academic inquiry. However, few studies address the usefulness of these forecasts to economic agents? decision making. Each year Central Illinois producers are faced with the decision to plant...

Price series that are 21.5 years long for six agricultural futures markets, corn, soybeans, wheat, hogs, coffee, and sugar, exhibit time-varying volatility, carry long-range dependence, and portray excessive skewness and kurtosis, though they are covariance stationary. This suggests that the...