A new home for Commodity Challenge: an on-line ag marketing simulation game

Commodity Challenge is the premier agricultural marketing simulation game on the web. I am pleased to announce that beginning tomorrow, the web site and games will be managed by our own Center for Farm Financial Management at the University of Minnesota.

Commodity Challenge was developed in 2002 as a joint project of the Montana Grain Growers Association and Dr. Kevin McNew of Montana State University and President of CashGrainBids.com.  The original software has been updated six different times, and today you can trade commodities as diverse as corn, soybeans, spring wheat, winter wheat, soft white wheat, soft red wheat, barley, feeder cattle and more. The goal of Commodity Challenge is to give farmers and ranchers (and students) an opportunity to build their marketing skills in a risk-free simulated environment.

Who uses Commodity Challenge? Simulation games are popular with marketing group and organizations. Universities, community colleges and high schools use it add some real world flare to their ag marketing class. Do you recall the MarketMaxx competition sponsored by Corn and Soybean Digest? That was managed by Commodity Challenge. I estimate that over 500 games have been played since 2002.

If you are interested in learning more about Commodity Challenge or simply want to set up your own game, contact me at usset001@umn.edu.