Limits exist so that no single participant can corner a physically deliverable market. They are tightest in the spot-month and looser across all months combined, and they aggregate accounts under common control, so splitting across brokers does not help.
Genuine hedgers can apply for a hedge-exemption. Speculators cannot, and breaching a limit brings fines and forced reduction regardless of intent.
Example: a federal spot-month limit on a core agricultural contract might be a few hundred contracts against tens of thousands allowed in all months, which for corn means a cap measured in millions of bushels.
Related: accountability-level, hedge-exemption, spot-month, large-trader-reporting, cftc