Today, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is meeting in Washington D.C. and their discussion will be watched closely by both traders and farmers here in Illinois. The Commission is looking into an odd trend that's been affecting the agricultural commodity markets, the divergence of the “cash price” paid to farmers for their crops, and the trading price set by the markets. Eight Forty-Eight's Alison Cuddy spoke last week with Dr. Scott Irwin, an economist in the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Economics at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He says the price of a commodity like corn may vary during the six months between planting and harvest, but it should settle once the corn's delivered.
Music Button: Bill Frisell, “Soul Merchant”, from the CD Blues Dream, (Nonesuch records)