Price Risk
Options on Futures: A Cautious Introduction for Farmers
How put and call options on grain futures work, with a price-floor example, premium costs, time value and the risks to understand first.
Tariffs and Policy
Farm Support Programs and Trade: A Plain Overview
How governments support farmers through price floors, payments and insurance, and why those programs matter for world grain trade.
Trade Paperwork
FOB, CFR and CIF: Incoterms for Grain Sales
Plain-English guide to FOB, CFR and CIF in bulk grain sales: who pays freight and insurance, where risk passes, and a simple cost example.
Crop Basics
Grain Grading: How Test Weight and Damage Set Value
How grain grades work, what test weight, damaged kernels and foreign material mean, and how quality factors turn into discounts at delivery.
Grain Markets
Seasonal Patterns in Grain Prices: What History Suggests
Grain prices often soften near harvest and firm later. See why, how storage costs fit in, and why seasonal patterns are not guarantees.
Price Risk
Common Mistakes When Pricing Grain Contracts
Avoid typical errors in grain contracts: ignoring basis, overselling, missing delivery terms and misunderstanding HTA and basis contracts.
Tariffs and Policy
Import Quotas vs. Tariffs: What Is the Difference?
Tariffs tax each unit imported, while quotas cap the volume. Learn how tariff-rate quotas combine both, with a simple numeric example.
Storage and Freight
Moisture and Shrink: Why Dry Grain Is Worth More
Why moisture sets grain value and storage life, how shrink is calculated with a worked example, and how drying charges can cut your check.
Grain Markets
Why Futures and Cash Grain Prices Don't Always Match
Futures and cash grain prices often differ. Learn why delivery months, location, quality and storage costs keep the two numbers apart.
Trade Paperwork
Phytosanitary Certificates Explained for Grain Shipments
What a phytosanitary certificate is, who issues it, and how exporters can avoid delays by matching it to the importing country's rules.
Storage and Freight
Barge, Rail or Truck: How Grain Gets to Market
Compare trucks, trains and barges for moving grain: where each fits, what drives the cost, and the risks like river levels, ice and delays.
Crop Basics
Wheat, Corn and Soybeans: How They Differ in Trade
Three crops, three markets: how wheat, corn and soybeans differ in use, planting seasons, quality needs and the way they move in trade.