Imagine you are a farmer who will harvest wheat in three months. You would love to lock in today’s price so you can sleep soundly, no matter where the market goes. A bakery that needs wheat in three months wants exactly the same certainty. Forwards and futures are the tools that make this possible — they let people agree on a price today for a trade that will happen later. In this chapter we will see how these contracts work, how they are priced, and how investors and companies use them to manage risk.