It is not the Board or the Merc's job to set the price - the cash market does that.  It is the Board and Merc's job to assess future risk and put a premium or discount on the current markets to reflect that level of risk or opportunity.  Due to basic human nature, they tend to swing too far one way or the other, but for the most part they do their job.  I think futures are undersold based on beef fundamentals, but they are looking at the risk of competing meats, stronger dollar, and reduced exports and negotiate the futures prices to reflect that.