Explore Contracts

Find the right mix of contracts to diversify your grain marketing plan.

Diversify your grain marketing plan with contracts that fit your farm and your situation.

When you’re choosing contracts to include in your grain marketing plan, there are several factors to consider. What's your target price for your grain? How much risk are you willing to take on? How comfortable do you feel tracking the markets? Your answers to these questions will help you decide which types of contracts make the most sense in your plan.

Choosing your grain contracts.

To get started, it’ll be helpful to understand your options and how each type of contract fits in a diversified grain marketing plan.

 

Grain marketing for every season.

To get your target price for your grain, make the most of every opportunity, and reach your profit goals, it’s important to keep an eye on your grain marketing plan throughout the year and adjust to changing market conditions.

Here are some things you can think about in each season.

Summer (June – August)

During the growing season, you have a lot on your plate — feeding and watering your crops, keeping an eye out for potential problems, getting ready for harvest. This is also the time of year when you can start forecasting your yield and emptying your bins to make way for new grain.

Tip: Based on historical data, prices tend to drop in August. If you haven’t already established a basis, now’s the time.

  • Are you prepared for the USDA June 30th Acreage and Grain Stocks reports? 
  • Have you taken advantage of the early ProPricing enrollment?
  • Do you need to sell any remaining grain from last year to make room in your bins for the current crop?

  • ProPricing
  • Minimum Price
  • Focal Point

Fall (September – October)

Your hard work and preparation paid off, and it’s time to harvest your grain. Harvest time means long days in the fields and extra attention to equipment to make sure everything is in good working condition.

Tip: This is the time of year when the supply of grain is at its highest. That typically means lower prices.

  • Do you need to deliver on any contracts during harvest?
  • Do you need to sell any additional grain because of better-than-expected production?

Winter (November – March)

During winter, you can take time to analyze your harvest, figure out what went well and what could’ve gone better, and start making grain marketing plans for next season.

Tip: The USDA World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report is released the second week of January and the USDA planting intentions report is released on March 31. These reports can be major market movers. Consider protecting unsold bushels heading into these releases and capitalizing on market movement before and after the reports.

  • Do I still have uncontracted grain and should I enroll it in ProPricing InventoryPro before the December Deadline?
  • When do I need cash flow throughout the winter?
  • What percentage of my grain do I want to forward contract before I start planting?
  • How do spring crop insurance prices impact my grain marketing plan?
  • Am I prepared for the USDA March 31st planting intentions report?

  • Foundational Contracts
  • MarketGuide
  • Minimum Price
  • Focal Point
  • Firm Offer

Spring (April – May)

We know you’re busy preparing your fields, planting your crops, and setting yourself up for a successful growing season this time of year. There are also key market opportunities, so don’t forget to carve out some time to think about your grain marketing plan.

Tip: Risk premiums tend to be highest in the spring, so this can be a great time to start pricing your grain instead of waiting for harvest-time lows.

  • Do you expect prices to trend upwards in the near future based on planting expectations, carry-over stocks and weather?
  • How can you capture potential spring rallies?
  • What time periods will be the best to lock in a narrow basis?
  • Do you need to look at additional contracts to capture seasonal highs?

  • Floored Contracts
  • Premium Offer
  • Firm Offer

Not sure which grain contract will work for you?

TEST

  • Question 1
  • Question 2
  • Question 3
  • Results

What’s your market bias?

How confident are you?

Are you worried about production?

Because you are $1 in the market, $2 confident about the market and you answered $3 about your grain production worries, we recommend:

Pacer

Keep pace and establish benchmarks with average daily pricing. A simple, straightforward way to build a price for your grain, take advantage of seasonality, and reduce both the stress and risk of trying to time the market.

  • Your grain is marketed every day. At the end of the contract, you get the average price.
  • Establish your basis any time prior to delivery and price out at any time.
  • Set it and forget it — auto-executes throughout your selected time period.
Use when the market is:
  • Bull
  • Bear
  • Neutral

Because you are $1 in the market $2 confident about the market and $3 about grain production, we recommend: