Wait, What Exactly is a Market Year Average (MYA) Price?

The prominence of the market year average (MYA) price in the Farm Bill made me wonder how many people actually know how it is determined or what it even is. The MYA price is something that finds its way into many economic analyses, but is probably used with little thought given to the details of its construction or what it really represents. I know I have used it frequently without ever giving it much thought. However, tying a government payment to it got my attention so I decided to investigate the details of the calculation a bit. (more…)