A cattle farmer expects to have 120,000 pounds of live cattle to sell in three months. The live-cattle futures contract traded by the CME Group is for the delivery of 40,000 pounds of cattle. The farmer use the contract for _________. But, from the farmers viewpoint, there are pros and cons of this approach. The farmer can short 3 contracts that have 3 months to maturity. If the price of cattle falls, the gain on the futures contract will offset the loss on the sale of the cattle. If the price of cattle rises, the gain on the sale of the cattle will be offset by the loss on the futures contract. Using futures contracts to hedge has the advantage that the farmer can greatly reduce the uncertainty about the price that will be received. Its disadvantage is that the farmer no longer gains from favorable movements in cattle prices.

A. regulating

B. hedging

C. speculating

D. investing