Hog and cattle commodities give you another trading option when considering your investment plan. Commodity markets exchange raw or primary products with standardized contracts for the future delivery of physical raw materials. You invest in the probability of a good crop or livestock season.
Financial advisers recommend investing just partially in commodities such as meats futures since they are a risky investment. Many factors such as weather, feed, breeding patterns and the national economy can affect the season and the price of the stock. Stay on top of the national changes in market prices and trends and you'll have a better change of profiting from risky commodities.
To be successful in trading within the livestock and meat commodity market:
1. Monitor news and changes in the meat commodities market.
2. Check livestock commodities indexes daily to stay on top of the market.
3. Use a broker or dealer to help you trade meat commodities futures efficiently.
Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done
Learn about livestock market commodities
Follow local, national and worldwide news reports to make more informed decisions about the commodities you choose to trade. The more you know about the industry the better you will do in the market. Be as involved as possible with your monetary investments, even if you trust a broker to manage your stocks and futures for you.
I recommend: Read
market research reports and newsletters like
Investor's Daily Edge to understand what's happening in the livestock industry. Get the official
USDA livestock world market analysis and
Chicago Board of Trade commodity news and predictions to make sure you're on top of the market trends and news.
Develop an investment plan to include hog or cattle commodities
Use price charts and predictions to decide how much you want to invest in the livestock and meat commodity market. Financial advisers recommend not spending more than 3 to 10% of your total investment funds on commodities since they are riskier and more volatile than stocks. Choose your futures carefully and start small to avoid too much risk.
I recommend: Research
commodity brokers online to see which may work best for your situation. Check
livestock-futures.com to learn how factors such as feeding, breeding and other factors can affect the price of stocks and futures. Browse
CNN Money or
MSN Money for daily and weekly charts, trends and prices to help you plan your investments.
Trade online or partner with a livestock market dealer or broker
Decide whether you want to trade meat commodities yourself or hire a broker to do it for you. If you're new to the commodity market you may find a broker easier to work with until you better understand the market. Brokers follow trends, news and predictions to give you expert opinions and suggestions.
I recommend: Contact
Lind-Waldock in Chicago for meats futures trading advice and the ability to trade online or get broker assistance. Try
GFT Futures and
Go Futures for free to decide if you like the format of online trading. If you prefer to work directly with a broker consider a midwestern firm close to the livestock and meat commodity market, like
Peacock Trading.
Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide
- Work with a broker to develop your investment plan including stocks and futures in the meat livestock market. Be open to suggestions about the type of futures and amounts of money you invest in the market.
- Start small and work your way into the cattle futures market. Commodities futures and meat stock market investments can be very profitable but use caution to make sure you choose the right investments at the right times.
The official source of Livestock and Meat Commodity Market is
the Livestock and Meat Commodity Market page at Business.com
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