Soybean prices today.
Live soybean futures, U.S. farm price history back to 1989, the seasonal price pattern, and the calculators that turn a price into a marketing decision.
What farmers have been paid
U.S. average price received by farmers — the cash price at the farm gate, not the futures price.
Price received, $/bu
Seasonal price pattern
Turn a price into a decision
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Basis & cash price
Cash price = futures + basis.
Soybean-to-corn ratio
Planning aids only, not financial or trading advice. Use your elevator's or broker's live bid for actual sales.
Futures set the market. Your elevator sets the basis.
Harvest lines like this are why basis often widens in the fall — and narrows when buyers need beans later.
Try the basis calculatorUSDA report calendar
Prices often move sharply on these days.
Every week & every year
- Crop Progress — Mondays, 4:00 p.m. ET, April–November (planting, condition, harvest pace)
- Export Sales — Thursdays, 8:30 a.m. ET (China and other buyers)
- Prospective Plantings — late March (first acreage estimate)
- Acreage & June 1 Grain Stocks — late June
Six forces behind every bushel
U.S. weather
July–August rain decides pod fill. Dry forecasts lift prices fast.
South America
Brazil is the top exporter; its harvest (Jan–Apr) competes with U.S. beans.
China demand
The largest importer. Purchases and trade policy swing export sales.
Soy oil & fuel
Renewable diesel and biodiesel demand has made oil a bigger share of crush value.
USDA reports
WASDE, acreage and stocks numbers reset expectations in minutes.
The U.S. dollar
A stronger dollar makes U.S. beans pricier abroad, weighing on exports.
Reading a soybean quote
- Futures trade on the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) in cents per bushel; one contract is 5,000 bushels. A quote of 1150'2 means $11.50¼.
- Basis is your local cash price minus futures. It reflects freight, storage and local demand — and it moves too.
- Old crop vs. new crop: July futures price beans already harvested; November prices the crop you're about to plant.
- Soybean meal and oil are what a bushel becomes when crushed (~47 lb of meal, ~11 lb of oil). Their combined value vs. beans is the “crush margin.”
Soybean futures contract months
So “ZSX27” is November 2027 soybeans, and “ZS1!” on the chart means the nearest contract.
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