Demand also figures in. The more customers need the crop, the more they're willing to pay for it, strengthening the cash market and the basis. As a result, fixing the futures and basis parts of your price at different times may help you realize a higher overall price. One way to do this is to sell exchange traded futures contracts directly through a broker. This is what your elevator does to hedge its risk after it forward contracts grain with you.
Futures contracts list a delivery month and a quantity.
But, very few contracts are ever exercised. Instead, buyers and sellers of grain use the contracts as surrogates to lock in a price for the commodity. To trade futures, you must start an account with a futures broker and deposit margin money to guarantee each position you open. You'll also incur commissions and exchange fees every time you open a position. Financing a futures account can be a major obstacle, especially if you intend to stay with a hedge all the way until harvest, and prices rise significantly after you initiate the futures sale.