Agricultural Futures Explained: Corn, Soybeans, Wheat, Canola, Crop Calendars, and USDA Reports

Agricultural futures are contracts to buy or sell a set quantity of a crop, of a set grade, for delivery in a set month, at a price agreed today. The best-known are CME Group’s CBOT corn, soybean and wheat futures, each covering 5,000 bushels, and ICE’s canola futures, the main price benchmark for Canadian canola growers.

In short: CBOT corn (ZC), soybeans (ZS) and Chicago wheat (ZW) each cover 5,000 bushels, are quoted in cents per bushel, and move in ticks of a quarter cent, worth $12.50 per contract. ICE canola (RS) covers 20 metric tonnes, quoted in Canadian dollars per tonne, with a tick of C$0.10 per tonne, worth C$2 per contract. Prices respond to the crop calendar (planting, growing season, harvest) and to scheduled government reports, especially the USDA’s monthly WASDE.

Why farmers and food companies use grain futures

Grain futures were among the first futures markets because the problem they solve is old: a farmer plants in spring without knowing what the crop will sell for in autumn, and a miller or feed buyer does not know what grain will cost. Selling futures lets a farmer lock in a price level for part of the expected crop; buying futures lets a processor fix future input costs. The mechanics, with worked examples, are in how farmers and airlines hedge.

The contracts

Specifications from the CBOT rulebook (Chapter 10 for corn) and CME product pages, and from ICE Futures U.S. canola rules (Chapter 12) and its product page. Hours and limits are as of November 2026.

Contract	Code	Size	Quote	Tick	Tick value	Months
Corn	ZC	5,000 bushels	US cents per bushel	1/4 cent	$12.50	Mar, May, Jul, Sep, Dec (H, K, N, U, Z)
Soybeans	ZS	5,000 bushels	US cents per bushel	1/4 cent	$12.50	Jan, Mar, May, Jul, Aug, Sep, Nov (F, H, K, N, Q, U, X)
Chicago SRW Wheat	ZW	5,000 bushels	US cents per bushel	1/4 cent	$12.50	Mar, May, Jul, Sep, Dec
Canola	RS	20 metric tonnes	C$ per tonne	C$0.10	C$2.00	Jan, Mar, May, Jul, Nov, plus Sep from the September 2027 expiry

Month letters are explained in the expiration month codes glossary entry.

CBOT grain trading hours run Sunday to Friday 7:00 p.m. to 7:45 a.m. CT, and Monday to Friday 8:30 a.m. to 1:20 p.m. CT, with a break between sessions.

Delivery. These are physically delivered contracts. CBOT corn delivers No. 2 yellow corn at par, with premiums or discounts for other grades, through shipping certificates at approved locations. Canola delivers canola seed free-on-board trucks or rail cars in a par delivery region in Saskatchewan, with premiums or discounts for other regions. ICE canola’s last trading day is the trading day before the 15th calendar day of the delivery month.

Smaller sizes. CBOT lists mini-sized grain contracts of 1,000 bushels, and on February 24, 2025 CME launched Micro Corn (MZC), Micro Soybean (MZS) and Micro Wheat (MZW) futures, each 500 bushels, one tenth of the standard size. The micros are cash settled to the standard contract’s settlement price and have a tick of half a cent (twice the standard tick size), worth $2.50 per contract. Micro Soybean Oil and Micro Soybean Meal launched at the same time. See micro futures explained.

Daily price limits. Corn, soybean and wheat futures have daily price limits that CME resets twice a year based on price levels. Canola has a daily limit set by ICE, with expanded limits under its rules. Check the exchanges for current figures. How limit days work is covered in limit moves and circuit breakers.

Worked examples: tick arithmetic

Prices are illustrative, not forecasts.

Corn. A farmer sells one December corn contract at $4.5025 a bushel as a hedge. A month later December corn is $4.4300.

Move: 7.25 cents per bushel in the farmer’s favour.
Ticks: 7.25 / 0.25 = 29 ticks.
Futures gain: 29 x $12.50 = $362.50. (Check: $0.0725 x 5,000 bushels = $362.50.)

That gain on the futures offsets a lower price for the physical crop. It does not add to the farmer’s income; it locks in a level. If prices had risen, the futures would have lost money while the crop became worth more.

Soybeans. A trader buys one November soybean contract at $10.50 and it rises to $10.80.

Move: 30 cents = 120 ticks.
Gain: 120 x $12.50 = $1,500.

Canola. A crusher buys one November canola contract at C$650.00 a tonne. It settles at C$662.40.

Move: C$12.40 per tonne = 124 ticks.
Gain: 124 x C$2 = C$248. (Check: C$12.40 x 20 tonnes = C$248.)

A canola grower would usually hedge many contracts: 100 tonnes is five contracts.

From the futures price to the farm gate

A farmer never sells corn at exactly the Chicago futures price. The local elevator bids a price equal to futures plus or minus the local basis, which reflects transport costs to the delivery market and local supply and demand. Illustrative example:

In spring, December corn futures are $4.50 and the farmer expects a harvest basis of minus 30 cents, so the expected local price is about $4.20.
The farmer sells 4 December contracts (20,000 bushels) at $4.50.
At harvest, December futures are $4.00 and the actual local basis is minus 35 cents, so the elevator pays $3.65.
Futures gain: $0.50 x 5,000 x 4 = $10,000, or 50 cents a bushel.
Effective price: $3.65 + $0.50 = $4.15, close to the $4.20 target. The 5-cent shortfall is the change in basis.

The hedge locked in the futures level. It could not lock in the basis, which is why basis is the hedger’s remaining risk.

The crop calendar

Grain prices follow the life of the crop. Uncertainty is highest when the crop is in the ground and its size depends on the weather.

Period	US corn and soybeans	US winter wheat	Canadian canola
Winter	Planting decisions; South American crops growing	Dormant	Planting decisions
Spring (April-June)	Planting	Spring growth	Seeding, mostly in May
Summer (July-August)	Corn pollination in July; soybean pod-fill in August. Weather markets.	Harvest, roughly June-July	Flowering and growth
Autumn (September-November)	Harvest	Next crop planted	Harvest

Two consequences:

New crop vs old crop. December corn and November soybeans are the first contracts priced on the crop being planted that year. July and earlier contracts reflect the previous harvest. The two can trade very differently when stocks are tight.
Seasonal volatility. Summer weather in the US Midwest can move new-crop prices sharply. South American weather matters too: Brazil and Argentina are major soybean and corn exporters, with growing seasons opposite to North America’s.

USDA reports: scheduled shocks

The US Department of Agriculture publishes reports on fixed dates that the market watches closely. Prices can move several percent within minutes of release.

World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE): monthly; US and world supply, use and ending stocks forecasts for major crops.
Prospective Plantings: end of March; farmer survey of planting intentions.
Acreage: end of June; what was actually planted.
Grain Stocks: quarterly; how much grain is in storage.
Crop Progress: weekly during the season; planting, condition and harvest progress.

In Canada, Statistics Canada publishes principal field crop area and production estimates, which matter for canola and wheat.

These reports usually come out while markets are trading. The result can be a price gap in seconds, which is why traders treat report days as higher-risk days.

What else moves grain prices

Weather, above all during pollination and pod-fill.
Export demand, especially purchases by large importers.
Biofuel policy. US ethanol uses a large share of the corn crop; renewable diesel and biodiesel demand affects soybean oil and canola.
The US and Canadian dollars, which affect export competitiveness.
Trade policy, including tariffs.
Basis. A farmer’s local cash price differs from the futures price by the local basis, as in the example above. See the basis glossary entry.

What can go wrong

Limit moves. A dramatic report or weather event can send prices to the daily limit. When that happens, you may not be able to exit until the next day.
Over-hedging. A farmer who sells futures for more grain than the field produces (because of drought, say) is left with a speculative short position in a rising market.
Basis risk. Futures and the local cash price do not always move together.
Delivery. Holding the standard contracts into the delivery period can mean making or taking delivery of grain. Retail brokers generally require positions to be closed before first notice day.
Margin calls on hedges. A hedge that is working economically can still need cash. If a farmer has sold futures and prices rise, daily margin calls arrive long before the crop is sold at the higher price.

The takeaway

CBOT corn, soybeans and wheat each cover 5,000 bushels, and each quarter cent is $12.50. ICE canola covers 20 tonnes, and each ten cents per tonne is C$2. Prices follow the crop calendar and jump on scheduled reports like WASDE, Prospective Plantings and Acreage. For hedgers, the contracts lock in price levels; for everyone, the leverage and limit moves mean the risk is real.