The root of human trade is the agricultural commodities, which still can offer profit today, assuming one knows which of the commodities to invest in and which to avoid. The government has many regulatory and aid agencies for commodities that oversee the commodity market and also offer useful insight into it at the same time. Other sites also offer their expertise on the topic and with some searching, one can formulate a well-rounded and accurate picture of the agriculture commodity futures market with knowledge of what have potential to grow and what does not.
Farm Service Agency
There are several government agencies, some that regulate agriculture, some that aid farmers, and some that supervise the speculation of futures. The Farm Service Agency (FSA) is a government agency that, “Lists price support as well as all other rules and impacts.”
Commodity Futures trading Commission
The Commodity Futures trading Commission (CFTC), is an agency that was “…Established as an independent agency, by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Act (88 Stat. 1414), October 23, 1974.” CFTC possesses a wealth of information on agriculture, but one focusing on investing into futures can narrow their search on site for “…supplemental reports …aggregate futures and option positions of Noncommercial, Commercial, and Index Traders in …selected agricultural commodities.”
National Futures Association
The National Futures Association (NFA) is a major government agency to be aware of when investing into any future. The NFA has the role to“…regulate every firm or individual who conducts futures trading business with public customers.” They also aim to “…develop rules, programs and services that safeguard market integrity, protect investors and help our Members meet their regulatory responsibilities.”
More Sources on Agriculture Commodities
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) offers information on “…futures and options products available on any exchange, covering all major asset classes.” They have an extensive library of .pdf or media streaming sources on the industry from various authors that can be accessed through.
There are other sources of information past the various government regulatory agencies in the agricultural market. Some common places one can find information is “…Chicago Board of Trade and Chicago Mercantile Exchange have numerous free publications that explain topics ranging from the duties of a floor trader to understanding and using basis information.” The Missouri University site is also a good start in a search for information on commodities, although notably, the majority of their articles and research are focused on commerce within the state of Missouri, but it does offer other links to help expand this scope of knowledge as well as highlights the Federal agencies that regulate the commodity market.
The last group of viable sources to check would be the directories on commodities, such as Dmoz, where one can focus on any commodity in particular or just search for general overview of futures. Books are also a good source of knowledge for the field of investing in futures. Amazon has a large listing of books on the topic; one of particular interest is ‘Value Investing in Commodity Futures.’ The Library of Congress also offers a wide range of books one could read to research the topic further.
Agricultural commodity futures is a large market, with many variables, risks and rewards to offer those who take the time to wisely invest. If one has done their research on the pros and cons, the projections of the market, they will be able to invest with confidence and more certainty on the return of their investment.