The Basis Contract is priced in two distinct steps. The initial contract specifies the bushel amount, the delivery period and the “basis” relative to a particular futures option month. This contract allows the producer to partially lock in a future delivery price. The part of the price that is fixed is the basis, which is the difference between the cash price and the futures on the CBOT. The futures price is to be set at a future date, and delivery of grain can be made without pricing the CBOT futures price.