Nebraska Cash Wheat Prices and Basis Patterns

The basis data in this publication are a valuable tool for producers across the state to use in marketing their grain. When marketing grain, many producers concentrate on flat cash prices they receive from local grain buyers. There are two components to these flat prices that buyers use to bid. One is the current futures price level. The second is the basis value. Added together, they give a local cash price. This basis (the difference between local cash price and the futures price) has a seasonal pattern that differs across the state.

Use of these trends will help producers who use basis, hedge-to-arrive or other cash forward grain pricing contracts to determine what they could be receiving for their crop and the historical competitiveness of the basis bid.