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Crop Storage Cost & Sell-Now Comparison Calculator

A later grain bid may look better until you count fewer saleable units and the cost of waiting. Compare your current cash sale with a later sale using the price and storage plan you want to test.

Your grain and two prices

Use the same crop lot and market unit for both prices. These should be comparable local cash-sale prices.

Changing units clears quantity and per-unit prices and fee; re-enter them from matching quotes.

One currency for both quotes and every cost; no exchange conversion.

bu

Use paid market quantity, not bin volume or truck gross weight.

USD/bu

Use your current local quote for this grain.

USD/bu

A price to test, not a forecast from this calculator.

Your storage plan

Enter the time and recurring charge added by choosing to store.

Use a decimal for part of a month if your fee allows it.

USD/bu/mo

Billed here on the starting quantity. Enter 0 only if there is no added monthly charge.

Other costs and quantity loss (optional)

Only enter changes caused by storing this lot. Zero means that item is not counted.

%

Total extra weight loss versus selling now. Include drying shrink if it applies; do not count it twice.

USD

Cash paid because the grain is dried for storage.

USD

Only trips or handling added by storing.

USD

For example an upfront fee or additional insurance, if it applies only to storing.

%/year

Simple interest on sell-now proceeds for the storage months. Avoid also entering the same interest above.

Which choice is ahead?

This is a scenario, based on your assumed later cash price and costs.

Sell now or store?

Enter a grain lot, two prices and a storage plan, then compare.

A higher assumed later price does not guarantee a better sale. Check actual cash bids, grain condition and buyer terms. Zero optional entries mean those losses or costs are not counted.

The later bid has to do more than rise

You have grain you could sell today, but you also have room to hold it. A higher price in a few months sounds attractive. The question is how much of that price gain will still be there after storage charges, fewer saleable units and the extra money spent while you wait.

This page puts both choices on one ledger. It uses your current cash price for a sell-now amount, then your assumed future cash price for a stored amount. The large result shows which side is ahead under those assumptions. It is a comparison of this marketing decision, not a forecast or a whole-farm profit figure.

How to use the calculator

Step 1

Start with the lot you could sell today

Choose a market unit and currency. Enter the paid grain quantity and your current local cash price per that unit. For bushels, use standard-weight market bushels from a ticket, not a bin-volume estimate.

Step 2

Test a later sale

Enter the later cash price you want to test, your storage period and the fee per starting unit per month. Keep both prices for the same grain and unit. Enter zero for the monthly fee only when no additional monthly charge applies.

Step 3

Add what waiting changes

Open Other costs and quantity loss if you expect extra shrink, drying, handling, an upfront charge or a cost for tying up money. Then choose Compare the choices. Read the net difference first, and use the break-even later price to see how much room your price assumption has.

A price rise can leave only a small gain

Suppose you have 1,000 standard-weight bushels that could sell for USD 4.20 each today. That is USD 4,200. You expect USD 4.80 in six months, a rise of 60 cents per bushel. It looks like a USD 600 gain if all 1,000 bushels remain and storage is free. Neither assumption fits this example.

Sell nowUSD 4,2001,000 bu at USD 4.20
StoreUSD 486Added cash cost in this example
Store netUSD 4,218Only USD 18 ahead

Assume 2% fewer paid units after storage, so the later sale has 980 bu. At USD 4.80, gross proceeds are USD 4,704. Six months at USD 0.04 per starting bushel per month costs USD 240. Add USD 80 of drying and USD 40 of handling. At a 6% annual simple carrying rate, waiting six months on USD 4,200 costs another USD 126. Total added cash cost is USD 486; USD 4,704 − USD 486 = USD 4,218. Storage is ahead by only USD 18.

Find the price that changes the decision

For that same 1,000 bu lot, the later price has to reach about USD 4.7816 per remaining bushel to match selling now. The hoped-for USD 4.80 is only about 1.84 cents above it. Here is how quickly the choice changes:

Later bidUSD 4.60/buSell now ahead by USD 178
ThresholdAbout USD 4.7816/buThe two paths nearly meet
Hoped-for bidUSD 4.80/buStore ahead by only USD 18

At USD 4.60, the stored lot nets USD 4,022. The displayed threshold is rounded, so treat it as a planning guide rather than a cent-perfect offer. Even a small extra fee or quantity loss can move it.

Sell-now proceeds = starting units × current price

Later units = starting units × (1 − additional loss %)

Storage charge = starting units × monthly fee × months

Carrying cost = sell-now proceeds × annual rate × months ÷ 12

Store net = later units × later price − all added cash costs

Break-even later price = (sell-now proceeds + all added cash costs) ÷ later units

The calculator keeps full precision and rounds money on screen to cents. The break-even price shows up to four decimal places because a fraction of a cent per unit can matter across a large lot.

Keep the two quotes on the same footing

A price per bushel cannot be used with a quantity in kilograms. The selector keeps every quantity, price and monthly fee in one market unit. Changing it clears those entries so you can type a matching quote. Currency changes the label only; it never converts an amount between currencies.

A bin bushel is not always a paid bushel

Bin volume is a space estimate. A market bushel is a crop-specific standard weight. Use the quantity a buyer would pay for now, and use the same market unit for both prices. If the grain will be dried further, the Grain Moisture Shrink Calculator can help estimate the weight change before you enter an additional loss percentage here.

Use comparable local cash bids. A futures quote alone is not the cash price at your delivery point. Grades, moisture schedules, location and transport terms can change what the buyer actually pays. The later price is your scenario, not a number this calculator predicts.

What goes into the extra-cost boxes?

Think only about costs that change because you store this lot. If a cost is the same whether you sell now or later, it cancels from this comparison. The monthly fee is charged on the starting quantity for the whole entered period. A commercial schedule with an upfront minimum or a different later rate needs its actual total worked out; put any amount beyond the recurring charge in Other added storage cost.

  • Additional quantity loss: fewer saleable units from extra drying, handling or storage. This already lowers later gross proceeds; do not enter its cash value a second time.
  • Drying and handling: added cash outlays for preparing and moving the stored grain. A drying fee and drying weight loss are different things.
  • Other added cost: a genuine storage-only fee such as additional insurance or a quoted upfront charge.
  • Annual carrying rate: the value of receiving the sell-now money sooner, estimated with simple interest. Use the relevant borrowing or opportunity rate, and do not count the same financing expense twice.

There are no built-in shrink, fee or interest defaults beyond zero. That makes the scenario editable, but a result with zeros may be optimistic. Check the actual facility terms and grain condition before acting.

Try a no-fee comparison, then add reality

Take 500 metric tonnes at 200 per tonne now. If a later cash bid is 210, with no extra fee, loss or carrying cost, the two sale amounts are 100,000 and 105,000 in the selected currency. Storage is ahead by 5,000 and the break-even future price is 200 per tonne. This is a useful arithmetic check, but it is rarely a complete storage plan.

Now enter your own monthly fee and any drying or handling costs. The break-even price climbs. If units are lost, the remaining tonnes must earn more per tonne to cover the same sell-now amount. That is why the break-even card can be more useful than the projected win: it shows the price the later market must actually clear.

Before deciding to hold the grain

A positive comparison answers a narrow question: under these prices, units and costs, which option leaves more money? It does not tell you whether the expected later bid will appear, whether the grain can be stored safely that long, or how a buyer will grade it.

Check the grain

Moisture, pests, spoilage and quality discounts can make the actual later quantity or price worse than the scenario.

Check the cash need

A small projected gain may not justify postponing income needed for debt, inputs or operations.

Use the result as a planning threshold. Update the later cash price and costs as real quotes change. The Crop Revenue Calculator handles gross sales across grades and harvests; the Farm Profit Calculator looks at broader farm income and expenses.

Frequently asked questions

What quantity should I enter?
Enter the quantity that would be paid for if you sold this grain now, in the same unit used for both price quotes. If using bushels, use standard-weight market bushels from the grain ticket rather than bin-volume bushels.
Can I use a futures price for the later sale?
Only if you first adjust it to a realistic local cash price with the relevant basis and selling terms. This calculator does not forecast prices or convert futures to cash bids.
How do I enter a storage fee with an upfront charge?
Use the monthly fee for the recurring part. Enter any additional upfront amount under Other added cost. If your quote uses a minimum period or daily rate, calculate that actual total first.
Is shrink an expense as well as a weight loss?
No. The entered percentage reduces the quantity sold later, so its value is already reflected in future gross proceeds. Do not also put its dollar value into a cost field.
Should I enter drying cost if I also enter shrink?
Yes, if drying adds a separate cash expense. The shrink field represents fewer saleable units; drying cost represents money paid for drying. Do not count a buyer deduction that already includes both again.
What does the annual carrying rate mean?
It estimates the value of receiving the sell-now money earlier. The calculator applies simple interest to sell-now proceeds for the entered months. Enter zero if you do not want to include it, and avoid counting the same interest again in Other added cost.
Does a positive result guarantee storage will pay?
No. It only means storage is ahead under the future price, quantity and costs you entered. The eventual cash bid, grade, quality, additional losses and available cash can change the result.
What is the break-even future price?
It is the later price per remaining unit that makes store-net proceeds equal sell-now proceeds after all entered added costs. A lower actual price favors selling now under those assumptions.
Are the results farm profit?
No. These are incremental proceeds for one marketing choice. Production costs and expenses common to both choices are excluded. Use Farm Profit Calculator for a whole-farm profit view.

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