I've downsized my operation (less rented ground) in recent years, and with handling fewer bushels have mostly relied on cash- and basis-contracting to price grain.

I used to use futures and options. The coming Micro Ag options on CME have me interested again, as I can trade in bushel increments that better match what I need for pricing flexibility on a few bushels.

I used full contracts years ago, and also tried mini contracts...but the trading cost per bushel using mini's always seemed high, as they were usually the same cost for a round turn as the full contracts when going through a broker. I'm guessing trading costs for micro ag futures would have the same problem.

Could I save trading costs by using an online platform? If so, what platform do you like?