The article examines how changes in agricultural markets affect price volatility. Competitive storage helps reduce price swings, while speculation and stock shortages can make prices more volatile. The study looks at three decades of data on livestock, grain, and dairy markets in the U.S. and E.C. It uses advanced techniques to analyze how stock levels impact price fluctuations. The findings show that reforms have altered how volatility spreads through markets, with dairy markets affected vertically and grain markets affected geographically.