Soybean crush margin calculator (board crush)
Meal and oil value per bushel, minus the beans.
Soybean crush margin
Soybean crush margin
Board crush - meal + oil value minus beans.
44 lb meal + 11 lb oil per bushel · meal $7.26 + oil $4.95 − beans $11.50
What is the crush margin at current meal, oil and bean prices?
Crushing a bushel of soybeans produces roughly 44 pounds of meal and 11 pounds of oil. The board crush is what those two products are worth at current prices, less what the bushel cost. It is the processor margin, and it drives how aggressively plants bid for beans.
For a producer it is a demand signal rather than a position. A wide crush means processors are making money and want beans, which tends to show up as a firmer basis at the plant. A narrow crush is the opposite.
Worked example
- Soybeans
- $11.50 per bushel
- Soybean meal
- $330 per ton
- Soybean oil
- 45¢ per pound
- Meal: ($330 ÷ 2,000 lb) × 44 lb = $7.26 per bushel
- Oil: ($0.45 × 11 lb) = $4.95 per bushel
- Crush: $7.26 + $4.95 − $11.50 = $0.71 per bushel
The products are worth $12.21 and the beans cost $11.50, so the board is paying 71 cents a bushel to crush. That is the gross margin before a plant pays for energy, labour and freight.
How it works
The two yields are conventions rather than measurements. A 60 pound bushel gives about 44 pounds of meal, 11 pounds of oil and the rest as hulls and moisture loss. Actual plant yields vary with bean quality and process, but the board crush uses the standard figures so that everyone is quoting the same number.
Units are where this calculation usually goes wrong. Meal is quoted in dollars per short ton and has to be divided by 2,000 to reach a per pound value. Oil is quoted in cents per pound and has to be divided by 100. Getting either the wrong way round produces a margin that is out by an order of magnitude.
Renewable diesel has changed the weight of the two halves. Oil used to be the by-product and meal carried the crush; biofuel demand for soybean oil has at times made oil the larger contributor. Watching which side is carrying the margin says something about what is driving demand for beans.
crush = (meal $/ton ÷ 2,000 × 44) + (oil ¢/lb ÷ 100 × 11) − beans $/buThe same beans at different oil prices
Beans at $11.50, meal at $330. Every 5 cent move in oil is worth 55 cents a bushel to the crush.
| Oil (¢/lb) | Oil value | Meal value | Crush margin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 35¢ | $3.85 | $7.26 | −$0.39 |
| 40¢ | $4.40 | $7.26 | $0.16 |
| 45¢ | $4.95 | $7.26 | $0.71 |
| 50¢ | $5.50 | $7.26 | $1.26 |
| 55¢ | $6.05 | $7.26 | $1.81 |
Common questions
Why 44 pounds of meal and 11 pounds of oil?
They are the industry standard yields from a 60 pound bushel, and the convention the board crush is quoted against. The remaining five pounds is hulls and moisture. Individual plants run slightly different yields, but quoting a standard keeps the number comparable.
Is the board crush the same as a plant margin?
No. The board crush is gross: product value minus bean cost. A plant still pays energy, labour, freight and capital out of it, and buys beans at a local basis rather than the board. The board crush is the market wide signal, not any one plant profit.
What does a negative crush mean?
That meal and oil together are worth less than the beans at those quoted prices. Sustained, it means plants are losing money crushing and would be expected to slow down, which reduces demand for beans and tends to weaken basis at the plant.
How does this relate to basis at a processor?
A wide crush gives a plant room to bid up for beans, and a narrow one does not. That is why a crush plant bid often sits above elevator bids in the same area, and why the gap moves with the crush rather than with the board.
Related
This tool is designed to help plan your overall portfolio and is not trading advice. You should carefully consider your portfolio, risk tolerance, and other metrics; Consult with your broker prior to making trading decisions