Sorghum sits at the intersection of key global demand channels, including domestic feed, regional biofuels and international export markets. Although sorghum correlates with corn over long horizons, localized supply dynamics and geopolitical factors frequently cause the cash spread between the two grains to fluctuate significantly. Priced directly as a differential to Corn futures, the new 5,000-bushel Sorghum basis contract allows market participants to isolate and manage this specific structural risk, bypassing flat-price liquidity hurdles and avoiding exposure to the directional price movements of the broader grain complex.
*Pending regulatory review
Features and benefits
Physical delivery in sorghum country
Settled via shipping certificates utilizing the trusted, existing KC Hard Red Winter Wheat delivery footprint.
Isolate high-volatility basis risk
Trade the volatile sorghum-to-corn cash spread independently. Protect gross processing margins, hedge elevator inventory values or capitalize on shifting feed-grain yield spreads.
Deep liquidity integration
Built to leverage existing liquidity pools. Implied inter-commodity spreads are available between Sorghum and Corn futures, appearing as sorghum's implied flat price.
Contract specifications
| SORGHUM FUTURES SPECIFICATIONS | |
| LISTING EXCHANGE | CBOT |
| CONTRACT UNIT | 5,000 bushels |
| PRICE QUOTATION | U.S. cents per bushel |
| MINIMUM PRICE FLUCTUATION | $0.0025 per bushel ($12.50 per contract) |
| PRODUCT CODES | CME Globex: MILO CME ClearPort: MILO Clearing: MILO |
| LISTING SCHEDULE | Two Decembers and all preceding March, May, July and September contracts listed annually following the expiry of the December contract |
| TRADING HOURS |
CME Globex: Monday – Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 1:20 p.m. CT CME ClearPort: Sunday 5:00 p.m. – Friday 5:45 p.m. CT with no reporting Monday – Thursday from 5:45 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. CT |
| TERMINATION OF TRADING | Fourth to last business day preceding the contract month (first holding day for Corn futures) |
| SETTLEMENT METHOD | Physically delivered via shipping certificates |
| FIRST DELIVERY DAY | First business day of the contract month |
| LAST DELIVERY DAY | First business day of the contract month |
| DELIVERABLE GRADES AND QUALITIES |
U.S. No. 2 at par; U.S. No. 1 at a 1.5 cent premium Maximum 14.0 percent moisture |
| DELIVERY LOCATIONS | Facilities registered on the KC HRW Wheat futures contract (with existing differentials of KC at contract price, Wichita at 6 under, Hutchinson at 9 under, and Salina/Abilene at 12 under, plus an additional 1 cent discount outside the switching district) |
| BLOCK MINIMUM | 10 contracts |
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