The authors explore how wheat spot and futures market volatility has been impacted by government farm programs during the 1950-93 period. They find that changing volatility in both markets is highly associated with changing farm programs. The mandatory allotment programs of the 1950s and early 1960s (1/3/50-4/10/64) were associated with low volatility, while the voluntary programs initiated in the mid-1960s seem to have induced high volatility (4/11/64-12/22/85). Both market-driven loan rates and conservation reserve programs appear to have helped volatility revert to lower levels since the mid-1980s (12/23/85-12/30/93). The authors also examine seasonality and causality in conjunction with the farm programs.

We explore how wheat spot and futures market volatility has been impacted by government farm programs during the 1950–1993 period. We find that changing volatility in both markets is highly associated with changing farm programs. The mandatory allotment programs of the 1950s and early 1960s (1/3/50–4/10/64) were associated with low volatility, while the voluntary programs initiated in the mid 1960s seem to have induced high volatility (4/11/64–12/22/85). Both market‐driven loan rates and conservation reserve programs appear to have helped volatility revert to lower levels since the mid 1980s (12/23/85–12/30/93). We also examine seasonality and causality in conjunction with the farm programs.

We explore how wheat spot and futures market volatility has been impacted by government farm programs during the 1950–1993 period. We find that changing volatility in both markets is highly associated with changing farm programs. The mandatory allotment programs of the 1950s and early 1960s (1/3/50–4/10/64) were associated with low volatility, while the voluntary programs initiated in the mid 1960s seem to have induced high volatility (4/11/64–12/22/85). Both market-driven loan rates and conservation reserve programs appear to have helped volatility revert to lower levels since the mid 1980s (12/23/85–12/30/93). We also examine seasonality and causality in conjunction with the farm programs.

Louis H. Ederington, Jae Ha Lee, The Creation and Resolution of Market Uncertainty: The Impact of Information Releases on Implied Volatility, The Journal of Financial and Quantitative Analysis, Vol. 31, No. 4 (Dec., 1996), pp. 513-539