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Farmland, agribusiness and rural services

Grain trader financial model, built free.

A three-statement Excel model for a grain and commodity trader, built from your own figures and checked to balance.

  • Free account
  • No card
  • Usually ready within the hour

We use generative AI in parts of our process, so mistakes can occur. Every model should be checked by a person before it is relied on. Read more

The business

Buys grain, oilseeds, pulses or cotton from growers at harvest, stores and ships them, and sells to domestic users and export buyers, earning trading margin, basis and carry and holding forward contracts and stock at market value, funded by inventory facilities.

See the sampleHow the model works

In short

  • 01

    Three linked statements

    Income statement, balance sheet and cash flow, linked in every period.

  • 02

    Valued two ways

    Discounted cash flow and trading multiples, side by side.

  • 03

    Monthly to annual

    Monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annual periods, for up to 30 years.

  • 04

    Checked every period

    A Checks sheet shows the balance sheet balances and the cash reconciles.

The sample

The sample, as Excel draws it.

Built by the same system and checks as yours: its structure and its inputs, ready for your own figures.

Annual · 10 years · Low detail
Grain trader sample model.xlsx
The How It Works sheet of the sample grain trader model

The sample describes no real business. Yours is calibrated to your own figures, so its results are your business’s.

How it works

How the model works for a grain trader.

  1. How it earns revenue1 formula
    Revenue (top-down) · The business
    RevenueUnits soldAverage price
  2. What drives its costs3 formulas
    Direct costs (top-down) · The business
    Cost of salesRevenuefrom statementsGross margin
    Operating expenses · The business
    Total FTEsOperations and deliverySales and marketingTechnologyFinance, HR and administration
    Operating expenses · The business
    Total average FTEsOperations and deliverySales and marketingTechnologyFinance, HR and administration
  3. How it is funded3 formulas
    Debt
    RepaymentsScheduled repaymentsPrepayments from an equity raise and the cash sweep
    Debt
    Closing balanceOpening balanceDrawdownsRepayments
    Debt
    Interest expenseOpening balanceAll-in interest rateshare of the year
  4. How profit becomes cash3 formulas
    Working capital
    Trade receivablesRevenuefrom statementsDebtor daysDays in period
    Working capital
    InventoryDirect costs (positive)from statementsInventory daysDays in period
    Working capital
    Trade payablesCash operating costs (positive)from statementsCreditor daysDays in period
What it covers

20 parts, each one tested.

Every part is a tested building block with its own checks: yours is put together from the ones your business needs.

  • CPI forecastConsensus curve with long-run anchor
  • Exchange rate (US dollar)Exchange rate by financial year
  • Revenue (top-down)Price × volume
  • Direct costs (top-down)Gross margin %
  • Operating expensesHeadcount build by function
  • Corporate costsFixed cost base indexed to CPI
  • Working capitalFull working capital
  • Income taxCorporate rate with tax losses
  • DebtAmortising term loan
  • Discounted cash flow valuationDCF on free cash flow to the firm
  • Multiples valuationEV / EBITDA multiple
  • Commodity price deckFlat real pricesPrice paths for the farm, fish and forest commodities in the model — grain, oilseeds, cotton, sugar, beef, lamb, pork, wool, milk, fish, logs, fertiliser and feed — that sales and cost methods read as indices.
  • Seasonal conditions and climate riskSeason type by yearA season factor that scales yields, carrying capacity, receivals, input demand (or, for ski resorts, snow and skier visits) for drought, average and good years.
  • Seasonal and maturing stockInventory daysFood and beverage stock built up seasonally or held to mature — cheese, wine vintages, spirits in cask, sugar and frozen meat — and the cash it ties up.
  • Interest-rate hedgingHedged share at a fixed rate
  • Key-metric summaryLast-twelve-month and run-rate metrics
  • Covenant tests and headroomLVR, gearing and ICR for property
  • Borrowing base and security coverReceivables and inventory borrowing base
  • Case selectionStackable stress toggles
  • Interest-rate forecastMarket forward curve
Key numbers

The numbers it tracks.

  1. 01tonnes traded
  2. 02margin per tonne
  3. 03stock on hand at balance date
  4. 04mark-to-market gains
  5. 05inventory facility use
  6. 06EBITDA
Used for

What it is used for.

Also used for
  • Scenarios and sensitivities
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Every agriculture and food model

Looking for a grain trader financial model template? Ours arrives built for your business, with your figures in it.

See a finished model, sheet by sheet

The sample is built on illustrative figures and describes no real business. Models are calculations prepared from the information you provide. They are not financial advice and must be independently verified. See our terms.