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AT-THE-MONEY: An option whose strike price is equal - or approximately equal - to the current market price of the underlying futures contract.

BASIS (cash grain): The difference between a cash grain price and a futures price. More exactly, basis is cash minus futures (i.e., the cash price of grain at a specific point minus the price of an appropriate futures contract).

BASIS CONTRACT: A contract initially unpriced, but with a fixed differential versus a futures contract set in the contract.

BEAR MARKET (BEAR/BEARISH): A market in which prices are declining. A market participant who believes prices will move lower is called a "bear". A news item is considered bearish if it is expected to produce lower prices.

BEAR SPREAD: To sell a nearby instrument or asset and buy an equal quantity of a more deferred period (e.g., to sell January and buy March soybean futures is a "bear spread").

BID: An "offer" to buy, at a specified price or basis. The grain trade, among others, commonly refers to a proposal to buy as a bid and a proposal to sell as an offer.

BROKER: Agent who gets a buyer and seller together by executing their orders. Much like a real estate broker, a grain broker does not acquire title or assume risk. He simply charges a fee for executing an order.

BULL MARKET (BULL/BULLISH): A market in which prices are rising. A participant in futures who believes prices will move higher is called a "bull". A news item is considered bullish if it is expected to bring on higher prices.

BULL SPREAD: To buy a nearby instrument or commodity and sell an equal amount of a more deferred period (e.g., to "buy March/sell May" is an example of a corn futures "bull spread").

BUY IN: To purchase grain commercially in order to fill an existing sales commitment. A buy-in can also be made by the buyer in the original trade for the account of the seller in the original trade, if the seller has failed to fulfill the contract commitment.

CALL: An option that gives the buyer the right to buy something at a specified price (the strike price) for a fixed length of time. In the grain trade, calls usually refer to options on futures.

CARRY, CARRY MARKET: Where the market value of a given commodity increases over forward time (opposite of Inverted Market).

CARRYING CHARGES (reference values): The amount by which shipments in the future exceed values for more nearby shipment slots. What the market is paying for grain storage. Carrying charges can exist in the futures (spreads) and in the basis (cash grain carries being the sum of the two.) Often shortened to "carry."

CARRYOVER: Grain and oilseed stocks not consumed during the marketing year and "carried over" into the next marketing year.

CASH COMMODITY: The actual physical commodity as distinguished from the futures contract based on the physical commodity. Also referred to as actuals.

CASH MARKET: A place where people buy and sell the actual commodities.

CHARTING: The use of graphs and charts in the technical analysis of futures markets to plot price movements, volume, open interest or other statistical indicators of price movement.

CLOSE (the): The period at the end of the trading session, officially designated by the exchange, during which all transactions are considered made "at the close"

COMMISSION: A fee charged by a broker to a customer for performance of a specific duty, such as the buying or selling of futures contracts.

CONFIRMATION OF TRADE: In the grain, feed and processing industry, a "confirmation of trade" generally is deemed to be a writing confirming an oral contract already made by the parties. The NGFA Trade Rules set forth specific requirements for such confirmations in NGFA Grain Trade Rule 6, NGFA Feed Trade Rule 2 and NGFA Barge Freight Trading Rule 2.

CONTRACT: In the grain, feed and processing industry, an agreement between buyer and seller that a court or arbitration committee will enforce. Contracts may be formed orally, but state-enacted versions of the Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) generally require that contracts must be evidenced by some writing if involving the sale or purchase of goods worth $500 or more. Such writing can either be an agreement signed by both parties or a confirmation evidencing the parties' agreement. Under the UCC, a written confirmation(s) exchanged between "merchants" is deemed evidence of the formation of a contract between the parties. Likewise, the UCC provides that conduct by both parties which recognizes the existence of a contract can be sufficient to establish a contract for sale of goods in some cases.

CONTRACT MONTH: The month in which delivery is to be made in accordance with a futures contract.

COVERED CALL: Selling a call against your crop in an amount not to exceed your ownership of physical inventory.

DEFAULT: The failure to perform on a futures contract as required by exchange rules, such as a failure to meet a margin call or to make or take delivery.

DEFERRED PAYMENT: A payment term in which the buyer and seller agree to defer payment. (Note: Deferred payment is not the same as Delayed Price.)

DELAYED PRICE: (Also known as Deferred Price, No Price Established - 'NPE') An unpriced grain trade in which title passes upon delivery, but neither the basis nor a futures price is set. The seller has the right to price later, at the price in a specified local market at that time, less service charges (if any). (Usually used as a substitute for storage.)

DEMURRAGE: Penalty charged when freight cars or trucks are held for loading, unloading, or shipping instructions beyond the allowable time.

DERIVATIVES: Any financial instrument whose value is derived from, or based on, the value of another asset, instrument, or commodity. (E.g., corn futures are actually a derivative; their value is based on the value of cash corn in Chicago. "Swaps" are also derivatives.)

DISAPPEARANCE: Domestic use and export of a commodity, often used interchangeably with distribution, although the meanings are not identical.

EXERCISE: To invoke the rights of a long option position to take a futures position.

EXERCISE PRICE: The price level of the futures contract that will result if an option is exercised.

EXERCISE VALUE: The amount of immediate potential gain if an option owner exercises an option into a futures position at the option's strike price. (E.g., "I own a Dec 2.60 call, and Dec futures closed today at $2.83. That call has 23 cents of exercise value, but the total option premium is 28 cents.")

EXPIRATION DATE: Generally the last date on which an option may be exercised. It is not uncommon for an option to expire on a specified date during the month prior to the delivery month for the underlying futures contract.

EXTRINSIC VALUE: (Also known as "time value".) That part of any option premium that is not exercise value. (E.g., "The Dec $2.80 call closed today at 18 cents; 12 cents was exercise value, so its extrinsic value is 6 cents/bu.")

FIRST NOTICE DAY: The first day on which notice of intent to deliver a commodity in fulfillment of an expiring futures contract can be given to the clearinghouse by a seller and assigned by the clearinghouse to a buyer. Varies from contract to contract.

F.O.B.: Free on Board. The expression indicates that the seller assumes all responsibilities and costs up to the specific point or stage of delivery named, including transportation, packing, insuring, etc.

FORWARD CONTRACT: A cash grain contract calling for shipment in the future. Used often to refer to purchases from farmers. Some farmers make it a practice to forward contract a portion of their production at planting time.

FULL CARRY (delivery markets): A futures market where the price difference between delivery months reflects the total costs of interest, insurance, and storage. The amount by which a deferred futures month must trade over a nearby month to make it economically feasible to take delivery via the nearby contract, hold the grain, and deliver against the deferred. (E.g., "If storage in Chicago is 4.5 cents per month and interest costs 3 cents per month, full carry between the December and March corn futures is around 22 ½ cents.")

FUTURES CONTRACT: An agreement to purchase or sell a commodity for delivery in the future: (1) at a price that is determined at initiation of the contract; (2) which obligates each party to the contract to fulfill the contract at the specified price; (3) which is used to assume or shift price risk; and (4) which may be satisfied by delivery or offset.

FUTURES ONLY: Cash market forward contracts whereby the futures price level is fixed, but the basis is not. See also "Hedge to Arrive."

HEDGE: A transaction intended to reduce risk. Often refers to taking a futures position that is equal and opposite from one's position in the cash market.

HEDGE(D) TO ARRIVE: Cash market forward contracts in which the futures price has been fixed in the contract, but not the basis. Therefore the final cash price is not fixed until a later point in time. See also "Futures Only."

IN THE MONEY: An option with exercise value (e.g., a call at $2.00 us "in the money" $.50 if the futures market is trading at $2.50).

INTRINSIC VALUE: The amount by which an option is in the money.

INVERSE: A market in which nearby values are higher than deferred ones. Can refer to basis, futures, freight, and futures spreads. Also "inverted."

LIEN: A security interest used to secure a debt. In grain, a bank may take a lien on a growing crop (thus, a crop lien) to secure a loan to the grower.

LAST TRADING DAY: The last day on which trading may occur in a given futures or option.

LEVERAGE: The ability to control large dollar amounts of a commodity with a comparatively small amount of capital.

LONG: One who has bought futures contracts or owns a cash commodity.

LONG HEDGE: Buying futures contracts to protect against possible increasing prices of commodities.

MARGINS (futures): An amount of money deposited by both buyers and sellers of futures contracts and by sellers of options contracts to ensure performance on the terms of the contract. In futures trading, there are two kinds of margins: initial margin and variation (maintenance) margin. Initial margin is the "good faith" margin deposited when a trade is made, and variation margin reflects the day to day changes in price.

MARGIN CALL: A call from a clearinghouse to a clearing member, or from a broker or firm to a customer, to bring margin deposits up to a required minimum level.

METRIC TON: Equal to 2204.6 pounds.

MINIMUM PRICE (CONTRACT) - (Also MPC's): A cash grain contract in which the buyer agrees to set a price floor but no ceiling. The buyer uses options to offset the risk. MPC's are popular as a way for farmers to sell cash grain, yet retain a chance for higher prices.

NEARBY DELIVERY MONTH: The futures contract month closest to expiration.

NO PRICE ESTABLISHED (NPE): A contract between producer and warehouse which transfers title to the warehouse, with a sales price to be established later. The seller relinquishes ownership of the grain, and becomes a general creditor of the warehouse until paid.

OFFSET: Taking a second futures position opposite to the initial or opening position, "close out". Approximately 99 percent of all market participants will close their futures positions by offsetting them rather than actually taking or making delivery of the underlying commodity.

OPEN (the): The period at the beginning of the trading session officially designated by the exchange during which all transactions are considered made "at the open".

OPEN INTEREST: The sum of all long or short futures contracts in one delivery month or one market that has been entered into and not yet liquidated by an offsetting transaction or fulfilled by delivery.

OPEN OUTCRY: A method of public auction for making bids and offers in the trading pits of commodity exchanges.

OPENING RANGE: The range of prices at which buy and sell transactions took place during the opening of the market.

OPTIONS: Contracts that give the buyer the right, but not the obligation, to (1) buy a commodity or futures contract, or (2) sell a commodity or futures contract. The right to buy a commodity is a CALL; the right to sell a commodity is a PUT. Options are traded based on some predetermined price (strike price), for a fixed period of time. Still used by some to incorrectly refer to the futures contract itself.

OPTION PREMIUM: The "price" a buyer pays for an option. Premiums are arrived at through open competition between buyers and sellers on the trading floor of the exchange.

OUT OF CONTRACT: A buyer or seller who has not fulfilled contractual obligations. A shipment that does not meet the contract specification.

OUT OF MONEY: An option whose strike price is away from the current market price and that has no exercise value (e.g., an option to sell at $2.20 is "out of the money" if the market is at $2.34).

OVERBOUGHT: A technical opinion that the market price has risen too steeply and too fast in relation to underlying fundamental factors.

OVERSOLD: A technical opinion that the market price has declined too steeply and too fast in relation to underlying fundamental factors.

POSITION: A market commitment, either long or short, in the market.

POSITION REPORT: A report for management, the purpose of which is to provide information on the company's exposure to price and basis risks.

POSITIVE (basis): A basis that is greater than zero (e.g., the local soybean processor is bidding $6.10, and futures closed at $6.05, the basis is +5).

PREMIUM (options): The price or cost of an option.

PRICE RISK: Risk associated with possible changes in prices, usually futures prices as opposed to basis risk.

PROTEIN PREMIUM: Indicates the extra price obtainable due to higher protein content than originally contracted. For example, a contract price could be based on 11 ½ % protein wheat with a premium of 2 cents per bushel for each ¼ percent protein above the 11.5 base.

PUT: An option giving the buyer the right to sell futures at a specified price (strike price) for a specified time.

ROLL: To move a cash grain or futures position into a different (usually more deferred) time slot by simultaneously buying one futures month and selling another.

ROUND TURN: A completed futures transaction involving both a purchase and a liquidating sale, or a sale followed by a covering purchase.

SELL OUT: An actual sale of grain of like kind and quantity on the open market, or to establish a fair market value on unshipped grain. Used to determine market value and assess damages due to a buyer's failure to perform on a contract. A trade made by a seller for the account of a buyer who has failed to provide billing on a shipment. (Reference NGFA Grain Trade Rule 13.)

SETTLEMENT PRICE: The daily price at which the clearinghouse settles all accounts between clearing members for each contract month. Settlement prices are used to determine both margin calls and invoice prices for deliveries. The term also refers to a price established by the clearing organization to calculate account values and determine margins for those positions still held and not yet liquidated.

SHORT: One who has sold futures contracts or the cash commodity.

SHORT HEDGE: Selling futures contracts to protect against possible declining prices of commodities.

SPECULATOR: A market participant who has absolutely no interest in owning or selling a physical commodity, but makes money taking on risk - buying and selling futures contracts in hopes of making a profit.

SPOT: Usually refers to a cash market price for a physical commodity that is available for immediate delivery.

SPREAD: The difference between two futures prices. Spreads may be intercommodity (e.g., corn vs. wheat) or time-related (e.g., March vs. May corn). When used as a verb, "to spread" means to buy one futures month and simultaneously sell another.

STOP ORDER: An order that becomes a market order when the commodity reaches a particular price level. A sell stop is placed below the market, a buy stop is place above the market.

STRIKE PRICE: The exercise price of an option. The price at which the rights of an option can be exercised into a futures contract. (E.g., a Dec $2.40 call has a $2.40 strike price. You can buy futures at $2.40 if you want to exercise the call.)

TARGET PRICE (firm offer): A type of cash contract in which the seller agrees to sell grain (and the buyer agrees to buy grain) at a specified price that is higher than the current price. Also refers to the desired selling price. Often called a "firm offer" when it involves a producer selling to a country elevator. No commitment to deliver exists unless the target price is reached. No correlation to now-obsolete USDA term "TARGET PRICE."

TENDER: As a verb, tender announces the intention of delivering a notice or an actual commodity. As a noun, tender normally denotes a notice of an intent to buy. The tender usually spells out in detail quantities to be purchased, desired quality, time of shipment, country of origin, and all inspection, weighing, and payment terms. Overseas buyers usually issue tenders to ensure the maximum competition for a given piece of business.

TEXAS HEDGE: Being long or short futures in an amount more than you physically own.

TIME DECAY: The decline in the "time value" portion of any option's premium over time. This assumes the underlying futures price (and market volatility) remains constant. Time decay is greatest in the latter stages of an option's life, gaining momentum especially in the final weeks before expiration.

TIME VALUE: (Also known as "extrinsic" value.) That part of any option premium that is not immediate exercise value. (E.g., "Dec futures closed today at $2.92. The Dec $2.80 call closed at 18 cents; 12 cents was exercise value, so its time value is 6 cents/bu.")

TRADE OPTIONS: Cash market options on the physical commodity, as opposed to exchange-traded options on futures. Trade options are currently banned in agricultural commodities (as of April 1996) under federal law, but are legal in certain other commodities.

UNDERLYING FUTURES CONTRACT: The specific futures contract that may be bought or sold by the exercise of an option.

VOLATILITY: Generally, the degree of price change in a market. In options trading, refers to a specific measurement of past (historic volatility) or future (implied volatility) price movement.