Over the past few months, we have seen tremendous variability in commodity prices. Soybean futures prices have increased by roughly 50 percent since mid-July, spurred on by lower-thanexpected production and an evertightening supply. Cattle futures prices have fallen by nearly 20 percent since the announcement of the bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) case in Washington. But what do these price swings mean for Iowa’s agricultural and overall state economy?