Keep the year offset intact when December is paired with the following March. This guide keeps the exchange, dated legs and historical-data boundary visible so the quoted relationship can be checked.
A cross-year structure
A December 2026 minus March 2027 Minneapolis calendar spread is one long December contract and one short March contract under the stated sign convention. The two delivery months belong to different contract years. A historical December 2019–March 2020 spread preserves that offset; pairing December and March of 2019 would test a different economic relationship.
The selected season year is usually the December year. The historical query should shift both contract years together, then match observations by trading date. An observation exists only where the December and following March dated contracts both have prices.
Carry and delivery timing
Deferred prices can reflect financing, storage, insurance and other carrying costs, while nearby supply conditions can compress or invert the difference. “Full carry” is a reference framework, not a fixed target for every wheat spread. Delivery rules and allowable storage charges may vary by product and period, so use the relevant exchange specification for the actual legs.
The first notice date of the nearby contract and the last trading day matter operationally. A study with an exit after a nearby delivery threshold is not a normal spread trade unless its delivery obligations are explicitly handled.
Evaluate history carefully
Check a fixed window, the number of seasons with both entry and exit observations and the worst interim moves. The result in dollars is the change in the quoted spread times $50 for one one-to-one structure, before commissions and slippage. A spread can have a modest average gain and a much larger adverse path in one year.
Our imported Minneapolis MWH27 contract has only a few October 2025 observations and does not establish a 2026 current December–March quote. The historical cross-year study can be shown, but it must not be presented as a live position.
See the dated contracts behind the formula
Explore matched historical Minneapolis prices, individual years and the selected date window. The dataset has no verified current MGE spread.
Open MGE Historical Research →Primary sources
Exchange and USDA sources establish product definitions and context. Recheck the current rules and dates before using a contract.
Continue this series
Educational historical research, not investment advice. Futures and multi-leg spreads involve substantial loss, execution and delivery risk. Historical results do not guarantee future outcomes. Imported Minneapolis prices stop on 24 October 2025; current quotes and margin must be verified independently.