As farmers move through harvest, finding the best place to deliver a load of grain can make a difference to the bottom line.
Nebraska Sorghum has expanded its interactive delivery map, giving producers more ways to locate buyers and compare cash prices for their crop.
The updated map now includes more than 70 delivery locations operated by 18 elevators and ethanol plants in Nebraska and neighboring states.
Kristine Dvoracek Jameson, executive director of Nebraska Sorghum, says the goal is to make that information easier for farmers to find during one of the busiest times of the year.
“Harvest is a busy time for farmers, and we want to make finding delivery locations and checking cash prices as easy as possible,” Jameson said.
The map’s first season last year demonstrated the potential value of shopping around. Tyler Bose of Arcadia, vice chair of the Nebraska Grain Sorghum Board, used it to find a buyer offering about 30 cents more per bushel than his usual elevator.
Bose said the extra distance was worth considering when the higher price more than covered the additional trucking costs.
This year’s updates are designed to make the map easier to navigate. Farmers can search by city or ZIP code, view delivery locations in a list and sort buyers by distance using their current location.
Each listing also includes contact information, directions and a link to the buyer’s current cash bids.
Jameson recently discussed the map and Nebraska’s sorghum industry while participating in the Nebraska LEAD Program, a leadership development program for people involved in agriculture and rural communities.
Nebraska Sorghum says it will continue updating the map as delivery locations change. Farmers can report missing or outdated locations through the map’s “Submit a Location” feature.
Cash bids and delivery details can change, so producers should contact buyers directly to confirm current information.
The updated map is available at nebraskasorghum.org/delivery-locations.