By Kate Fuller
e MSU Extension EconTools website is full of interactive tools to aid in farm management decisions.
We have just added a new resource, the Montana Wheat Basis Database.
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msuextension.org/basis
New Tool for Tracking Wheat Prices and Basis:
What is basis?
Basis is the difference between the local price of wheat at a specific
grain delivery location and the futures contract price. e difference
in price can be the result of several factors including but not limited
to the costs of transportation, local market dynamics, and quality
differentiation. Basis is used by producers and grain merchants as
one of the primary tools to gauge current market conditions relative
to longer run averages, as well as to compare local market conditions
to one another.
e website msuextension.org/basis maintains historical basis
information for six regional markets in Montana as well as local
(spot) and futures market prices for hard red winter and dark
northern spring wheat at varying protein levels. e website provides
tools for comparing daily basis across wheat classes, protein levels,
and locations over a ten-year time period. ese data are publicly
available from the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service and
Quandl.com. Msuextension.org/basis automatically downloads new
price information daily.
Wrien guides interpret the different variables tracked by the
website, as well as provide information on how to put together useful
charts and graphs. You can also download data as Excel spreadsheets.
Check out the EconTools website at msuextension.org/
econtools for more resources like this one. Other EconTools
include price tracking for cale, hay, and grains, calculators to
assist in determining economically optimal fertilizer application
rates, grazing lease fees, and other resources.
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