Selling your new crop on Hectare Trading
4-MINUTE READ
Getting the best price for your grain while juggling storage, cash flow and workload can feel like spinning plates. That’s where forward-selling through Hectare Trading can make a real difference.
As the UK’s leading online crop marketplace, we make it simple to sell your grain directly to verified buyers – including new crop. Here’s how it works and why forward-selling plays an important part in any grain marketing plan.
Why forward-sell your new crop?
Selling grain before you know your exact crop yield and spec might feel like a gamble – but it can actually help lower your overall risk and make it easier to plan ahead with confidence. Here are three major benefits of forward-selling before harvest:
Price risk management
Forward-selling lets you lock in prices in advance. You protect yourself from potential market swings, securing a known income level before the crop is even in the shed.
Better cash flow planning
Putting forward contracts in place gives you a solid basis for planning your farm’s finances. With a locked-in income at harvest, it’s easier to manage budgets and plan spending on inputs, labour and machinery.
Storage and logistics
By selling all or part of your crop ahead of harvest, you reduce your post-harvest storage pressure. You can time your grain movements better, easing bottlenecks during peak season.
This gives you fewer distractions when you’re flat-out in the field. With your sales already secured, you can concentrate on getting the crop in, not chasing buyers.
A strategic approach to selling
By selling portions of your crop at different times, you average out your price risk over the full selling period. Instead of trying to guess the market top or hope for the best, you give yourself the flexibility to respond to price moves as they happen.
In the end, what really matters is your average price across all sales, weighted by the tonnage sold in each contract.
Let’s take a fictional example of selling your 2025 feed wheat crop. Using Hectare Trading, you secure five contracts before harvest and three post-harvest.
Across all eight trades, your average selling price works out the same as selling all 1,421 tonnes at £190.09 per tonne.
It’s a more strategic approach that protects your overall profits.
Example: sell 1,421 tonnes of your 2025 feed wheat crop by November 2025
How to sell new crop on Hectare Trading
Creating your new crop listing on Hectare Trading is quick and easy:
1. Add your crop details
Head to the Hectare Trading site or mobile app and click to post a listing. You’ll add your crop variety, spec, your farm location and the tonnage you’re offering. Don’t forget: you can set a minimum and a maximum tonnage.
2. Select the harvest year
For new crop, you’ll specify a harvest year of 2025. You can then choose your preferred movement months from July 2025 onwards. You can also select “as available at harvest” if you want collection as soon as it’s off the combine.
3. Choose your contract type
Select a fixed contract for a single fixed price or a “feed base plus premium” contract to lock in a base price plus a potential premium once your final spec is known. When growing milling or malting quality crops, this protects you in the event of your harvested crop not meeting spec.
That's it! You can schedule your review time as usual and compare bids from a range of verified buyers. You’re in control throughout: simply click to accept an offer – or close your listing if not. As always, there’s no obligation to sell.
Ready to try it?
Hectare Trading is designed to give arable farmers more control and better access to the market. By forward-selling part of your crop, you’re not just taking advantage when prices are high – you’re managing your long-term risk in an often volatile and unpredictable market.
Why not post a new crop listing today and see what the market has to offer?
Need help getting started? The Hectare Trading team is always ready to show you around the site and help you post your first crop listing.