Proft Maximizing Hedging Strategies for Managers and Members of Vertical Beef Alliances

Vertical alliances are an increasingly common form of organization for participants in the beef industry. The implications of combining feeding and packing margins into one alliance are investigated. Moving average based selective hedging strategies are used to hedge the major inputs and outputs for cattle owners and packers to improve the level of mean revenue to the alliance. The success of the hedging program is evaluated from mean-variance and cash-flow perspectives.