Published online by Cambridge University Press: 28 April 2015
Recent commodity price volatility and development of new futures contracts has kindled interest in hedging among farmers in many parts of the country. Due to the importance of feeder cattle production in Kentucky and in the South generally, recent development of a feeder cattle contract is of special interest. This paper addresses some potential problems associated with use of feeder cattle futures markets by Kentucky producers. Specifically, it tries to: (1) determine the effect, if any, of location basis variability on ex post hedging results in Kentucky markets versus delivery markets at Omaha and Oklahoma City, (2) assess the ability of hedging to reduce revenue variability as compared to cash marketing and (3) determining the presence of bias in feeder cattle futures prices.