History

Since 1881, MGEX has provided valuable price discovery and risk management services to producers and consumers involved in volatile commodity markets around the world.

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MGEX 130th Anniversary Celebration

MGEX is pleased to announce it will hold a celebration in conjunction with its 130 year anniversary.  This event will include a live and silent auction of many Exchange relics including cash grain trading tables.  Tickets to this event are limited. Please view the information below.

View the 130th Anniversary invitation.

Kindly RSVP by November 21, 2011 by completing and returning the registration form.

• Celebration Information:

           When: Friday, December 2, 2011, 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

           Where: CoCo Innovation Center on the MGEX historic Trading Floor

           What: Live and Silent Auction of Exchange historic items, hors d'oeuvres, refreshments

• View the Final Live Auction Catalog*
• View the Final Silent Auction Catalog*

*File size may take a long time to load on some computers. Alternatively, you can view lists of the auction items below:

• Live Auction Item List
• Silent Auction Item List

A portion of the proceeds will benefit charity organizations.

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MGEX past | MGEX present | MGEX future | Contract Timeline | 125th Anniversary
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HISTORY IN THE MAKING

Founded as the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce in 1881, MGEX has served producers, processors and millers for 130 years. The Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce opened as a regional cash marketplace to promote fair trade and to prevent trade abuses in wheat, oats and corn.

Before the development of this centralized marketplace, farmers in the region had no way of knowing if they were receiving the best price for their grain. Most farmers harvested and sold their crops at the same time, so the subsequent glut of grain into the market set the supply and demand curve askew. In 1883, just two years later, the Chamber of Commerce introduced its first futures contract: hard red spring wheat. This contract was launched to address price risk management needs of buyers and sellers of spring wheat and still trades today, as it has continuously since its launch.

For over 60 years, the Exchange operated as the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce. However, by 1946, the term “Chamber of Commerce” had become associated with organizations devoted mainly to civic and social issues. So, in 1947, the Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce became the Minneapolis Grain Exchange, and the new Minneapolis Chamber of Commerce developed as the business and civic organization it is today. The Minneapolis Grain Exchange became The Minneapolis Grain Exchange, Inc. in 2010 following a change in corporate structure.

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