On March farmer Jacob needs to decide how many acres of corn to plant based on expected cash price at harvest (November). He knows that December futures price is a good indicator of what he would be receiving for his corn at harvest (in November). Therefore, he is planting corn based on expected November cash price.
a. Expected November basis as of March is $0.50 and December 2014 futures market price as of March is $4.85/bu. What is the estimated November cash price he plans to plant based on as of March?
b. At the time of harvest (November), he receives a cash price of $4.25/bu. Also, the expected basis of $0.50 realized as of November. At what futures price should he buy the contract back to cover the cash market loss as of November?
c. What is the total return per bushel?
d. For some reason, assume that the realized basis as of November is $0.45. At what futures price should he buy the contract back as of November?