Cathy Isom gives us information about the game teaching young student’s real life risk rewards of farming and commodity trading. That story’s ahead on This Land of Ours.
Commodity Carnival
From: CME Group
National 4-H Council and CME Group Bring Commodity Carnival to 150 State and County Fairs in Fourth Year of Partnership
Carnival Educates Youth on the Business of Agriculture
CME Group, the world’s leading futures exchange, and National 4-H Council are partnering for a fourth consecutive year to bring their popular and award-winning fair experience, Commodity Carnival, to a growing number of fairs during 2016. The interactive experience is scheduled to visit 150 state and county fairs across nine states this summer to teach fair-going families the fundamentals of risk management in agriculture, by way of bringing a hog to market. The game will also continue to be accessible beyond the fairgrounds this year via the mobile companion app, Risk Ranch.
“For nearly 170 years, agriculture has been an essential part of our business at CME Group, and participating in these fairs with 4-H allows us to deepen our connection to the farmers, families and communities who fuel our economy,” said CME Group Executive Chairman and President Terry Duffy. “Increasingly, the challenges facing agriculture and food security will be solved by young farmers and agribusiness leaders of the future. We’re pleased to play a vital role in educating the next generation of food producers on the importance of agricultural economics and managing risk as they go about feeding the world.”
“The Commodity Carnival and Risk Ranch are invaluable tools for teaching youth everywhere key lessons on agriculture, business and the economy in an approachable and engaging fashion,” said National 4-H Council’s President and CEO Jennifer Sirangelo. “We’ve heard from volunteers and fairgoers across the country that the Commodity Carnival experience is a highlight. Our partnership with CME Group allows us the unique opportunity to connect the curiosity of the next generation of farmers with the expertise of industry leaders, to the great benefit of both.”
Commodity Carnival Presents: Risk Ranch
Welcome to the first and most exciting agriculture based learning application for children of all ages! Risk Ranch is a fun and fast-paced, single-player game with engaging, real-life content, challenging you to take on the role of a modern day farmer and bring livestock to market. Avoid risks, allocate your coins wisely and purchase Futures to protect your investment…It’s up to you to safely raise your livestock and make a profit in a totally new world! As you progress throughout the game, you’ll have a chance to play through all four seasons while learning about the real-time risks that affect the value of your steer and hog.
Based on CME Group and 4–H’s Commodity Carnival board game, players will experience real life agricultural risks and will need to make strategic decisions in order to win the blue ribbon!
Risk Ranch is available on the web, in the App Store and through the Android Market.
Learn more in this introduction video to CME Group’s “Risk Ranch” app for Android and iOS.