GrainStrategy

Bluestem Family Farms

Marie Wendt · Smith County, KS · Bree Sandoval · client since 2024

856k bu at 82% priced
$3.5M under management
Call before pricingCosts are stated, not from their booksLast spoke in 44 days2 other findings(785) 555-9353
Every rung on every ladder clears this family's cost of production plus the desk's $0.10 cushion, and nothing has passed its sell-by date. The plan is doing its job.

Corn new crop · Dec 2026

Break-even $3.78 · cash bid $4.21 · 71% priced against a 72% pace

Ladder covers 50% of the crop
RungPriceOver costTrancheAway from the bidSell byState
1$3.95+$0.1715%
74k bu
FilledMay 9, 2026
4 months ago
Window Feb-May
Hit
2$4.19+$0.4118%
89k bu
FilledJul 9, 2026
46 days ago
Window Feb-May
Hit
3$4.41+$0.6317%
84k bu
FilledSep 9, 2026
in 16 days
Window Feb-May
Hit

Corn old crop · Sep 2026

Break-even $4.61 · cash bid $4.04 · 96% priced against a 95% pace

Ladder covers 57% of the crop
RungPriceOver costTrancheAway from the bidSell byState
1$4.85+$0.2415%
54k bu
FilledAug 9, 2026
15 days ago
Window Feb-May
Hit
2$5.08+$0.4717%
62k bu
FilledOct 9, 2026
in 46 days
Window Feb-May
Hit
3$5.30+$0.6925%
91k bu
FilledDec 9, 2026
in 4 months
Window Feb-May
Hit

Rungs are sorted by price rather than by the order they were entered, because a scale-up ladder only reads as a ladder in price order. Distance is measured from the cash bid, which is the board plus the local basis, not from the board alone.

A rung that filled before its date is done rather than overdue. The desk's cushion over break-even is $0.10, because a break-even is itself an estimate and pricing exactly at one is pricing at the midpoint of an error bar. On this crop that means a rung has to clear $3.88 to count as clearing cost.