I didn't quite understand the the story A Deal on Wheat. I was wondering what you thought the theme was?

-- Anonymous, March 27, 2000

Answers

Two Wall Street types were having a little power struggle, using wheat. One (The Bear) forced prices low by flooding the market with grain, and his competitor bought it all. Then, purely for amusement, I think, he bought a hundred bushels at $1.10 from his competitor, only to trick his competitor (The Bull) into buying it back for $1.50. The Bull controlled all wheat, so could demand any price he wanted, and because he bought back his wheat at a higher price than what he sold it for, he raised his price to cover his loss.

Lewiston lost his farm when he was forced to sell lower than what he had to pay to raise the wheat. The traders weren't concerned with him, though, and he was the reason they had wheat in the first place. The final irony is that Lewiston was forced to stand in line for bread made from the grain he produced, and then even that was denied because the price of wheat was too high.

-- Anonymous, March 28, 2000

From what I got from this story, it was meant to show what has always gone on in the ag markets. Farmers go through both good and bad times. However, it always seems like things go good for the middle man. In this case it was the brokers. The farmer may not be able to make any money on his product but all the corruption that goes on inbetween makes some people very rich. This story just shows the irony that goes on in farming. A farmer does all the hard work only for someone else to make a fortune off of his labors. The story can easily be related to today's situation in agriculture. Large corporations and rich people are able to control the markets and push the little guy out of business.

-- Anonymous, March 30, 2000