Current UCUI
68/100
Moderate-High Uncertainty
+4 points from prior reading
Potato Market Intelligence
Potato Collar Pricing Contract
A potato collar pricing contract combines a minimum floor and maximum ceiling around a defined benchmark for specified volume. Buyers and growers can model who bears risk inside and outside the band while preserving basis, quality, and physical-delivery constraints.
Market Data
How to read this market
Potato collar-pricing-contract data combines a minimum floor and maximum ceiling around a defined benchmark for specified potato volume. The market object is the contract price path within and outside the protected band, including quality, freight, reset, and sharing rules.
Use the data to compare downside protection for growers with upside protection for buyers and to backtest how often each boundary would bind. Preserve basis and volume conditions.
Data Module
Potato Collar Pricing Contract
Market objecttwo-sided price band
Primary measuresfloor, ceiling, in-band settlement
Key dimensionsbenchmark, volume, quality, period
Commercial usetwo-sided price-risk analysis
Governanceresets, premiums, sharing rules
Compare withphysical basis and replacement cost
Analysis
Why this matters
A collar stabilizes price but does not eliminate basis, quality, or availability risk. In an extreme crop shortage, the ceiling can remain below replacement economics even while the contract settles correctly.
Commercial interpretation should evaluate who bears risk in each price zone and whether the covered volume remains physically deliverable.
Signal 01
Usable Crop Uncertainty Index
UCUI translates crop and market complexity into a simple uncertainty signal. Higher readings indicate greater uncertainty—not necessarily higher prices.
Understand uncertainty. Anticipate risk. Act earlier.
UCUI is designed to analyze potato-industry publications and data signals across regions, varieties, weather, disease, storage, supply, and demand.
WeatherHigh
DiseaseHigh
StorageMedium
SupplyMedium
Single-day snapshot based on a scan of 11,500+ web and social signals. Get historical and real-time data by clicking the button below.
The MassGain Daily
Today’s market analysis.
A daily editorial synthesis of physical potato data, crop signals, market reporting, and what participants should watch next.
September 16, 2026Latest MassGain publication
Potato market steady for now; Russia’s smaller crop is the salient risk
Spot prices are flat and USDA terminal reports read ‘market steady,’ but a renewed forecast for a smaller Russian harvest and recent regional harvest stress leave seasonal import timing and storage losses as the key uncertainty.
Signal 02
MassGain Potato Index
Independent physical-pricing intelligence and market-trend analysis for procurement, forecasting, contracting, and scenario planning.
Core Russet Carton Median
312.45 USD/MT
Latest qualifying physical-market observation
+4.75 (+1.55%)
Price discovery for the physical potato market
MPI is designed to track physical pricing data, price trends, deltas, and divergences across regions and potato types.
Series window45 days
Current public coverageCore russet cartons
Primary source basisQualifying USDA physical rows
UnitUSD per metric tonne
Single-day snapshot based on most recent 45 days worth of data. Limited to US Russets only. Get more complete, global data about all varieties by clicking the button below.
Signal 03
MassGain Spot Reference
An independent spot reference designed for price discovery, contract discussions, procurement comparisons, and risk modeling.
Russet Burbank — U.S. Midsize
305 USD/MT
Demonstration reference format
+1.6% WoW · Confidence: High
A trusted benchmark for pricing, contracts, and risk
MSR is intended to use real transactions and verifiable physical-market data to support negotiations, price checks, contracting, and risk models.
ProductRusset Burbank
SpecificationU.S. midsize, 40–70 count
Reference typePhysical spot benchmark
StatusIn development
Based on most recent 45 days worth of data. Limited to US Russets only. Get more complete, global data about all varities by clicking the button below. Full access also includes historical data -- including depreciated NYMEX/CBOE/EEX spot references -- projections, trends, and AI-driven insights.
The MassGain Product Ladder
From insight to intelligence to action
Four integrated products built for the physical potato market, delivered through public pages, reports, exports, dashboards, and API access.
1
Content
Original research, commentary, aggregated news, and market updates.
- What matters right now?
- What is happening out there?
2
UCUI™
Usable Crop Uncertainty Index: an AI-powered signal of crop risk and market uncertainty.
- Understand uncertainty
- Anticipate risk
- Act earlier
3
MPI™
MassGain Potato Index: independent physical-pricing intelligence and trend analysis.
- Price discovery
- Regional trends
- Procurement planning
4
MSR™
MassGain Spot Reference: an independent benchmark for price discovery and risk modeling.
- Contracts
- Negotiations
- Risk models
Content + UCUI + MPI + MSR + API access
Get historical series, regional detail, constituent data, exports, alerts, and direct data access.
Overview
Who is this for?
This page is for procurement, finance, and market-intelligence teams evaluating a potato collar pricing contract. A collar combines a minimum price floor with a maximum price ceiling, creating a protected range within which settlement can move with a defined benchmark. MassGain helps users understand the tradeoff: growers gain downside protection, buyers gain upside protection, and both parties accept limits on favorable price movement outside the band.
The suite can model the lower and upper strikes, eligible volume, benchmark, observation period, quality adjustments, freight, reset timing, premiums, and any sharing rules. Procurement can compare a collar with fixed, formula, floor-only, and ceiling-only structures. Growers can estimate protected revenue under weak markets and foregone upside during shortages. Finance can stress contract cost across crop, yield, and basis scenarios. Analysts can backtest how frequently each boundary would have applied and whether the reference market matches the physical potatoes delivered.
A collar is only effective when the benchmark, basis, and volume terms are well defined. MassGain does not draft legal terms or provide hedging advice. It provides a transparent scenario framework that shows who bears risk in each price zone, how quality and regional basis affect settlement, and whether the structure supports durable supply without becoming detached from replacement economics.
Use Case
A processor and grower group negotiate a three-year supply agreement with a $210-per-ton floor and a $285 ceiling. MassGain backtests regional prices, yield, and quality scenarios and shows the ceiling would bind in severe shortages while the floor protects revenue in surplus years. The parties add a volume-flex clause and use the collar only for core tonnes, leaving supplemental supply market-linked.
FAQs
What is a potato collar pricing contract?
It combines a minimum floor and maximum ceiling around a defined benchmark or settlement formula.
Who benefits from the collar?
Buyers receive protection from extreme increases, while growers receive protection from extreme decreases.
How does MassGain evaluate the structure?
It models benchmark, basis, quality, volume, strikes, premiums, and historical or forward price scenarios.
Put this market intelligence to work
Get historical data, regional detail, benchmarks, alerts, exports, and API access tailored to your procurement
and market-analysis needs.
Data and Methodology
Professional market-data standards
MassGain is building transparent public market infrastructure. Each live metric will identify its date, unit, coverage, methodology, and source basis.
Data provenance
MassGain uses public, licensed, contributed, and independently derived physical-market information. Source availability and publication schedules vary.
Timing and revisions
Figures may reflect the latest available observation rather than a same-day transaction. Source data and MassGain calculations may be corrected, restated, or revised.
Not transactional pricing
MassGain figures are informational reference values and do not constitute executable bids, offers, settlements, or guarantees that a transaction can occur at the displayed value.
No individualized advice
Content and data are provided for informational and analytical purposes and do not constitute financial, investment, legal, trading, or individualized procurement advice.
Independent publication
Certain observations may be derived from USDA reports. MassGain is independent and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the USDA.
Commercial use and licensing
Public display does not grant rights to reproduce, redistribute, republish, or incorporate MassGain indices or references into commercial products or contracts without authorization.