Some concerns over tight corn seed supply and increasing input costs for fertilizer and fuel are holding back the corn acreage increase from rising higher. Corn acreage in Tennessee is expected to increase to its highest level in more than 20 years. The 42 percent increase in corn acreage, much of which is also being driven by the expected demand from growth in alternative fuels, is the largest year-over-year increase since 1986. Favorable price forecasts are one driver behind the increase...

But true corn aficionados yearn for old-fashioned corn flavor and tender sweet kernels, qualities now found only in home- or locally grown corn. It was an abrupt and disappointing change when commercial sweet-corn farmers adopted a new type of sweet corn about 15 years ago. Shrewd marketing labeled the new variety of canned and frozen corn "Crisp!", as if that were a desirable characteristic. With about 75 percent more sugars and tougher kernels, "shrunken" or sh2-type sweet corn tolerates...

Based on a survey of 86,000 farmers earlier this month, the Agriculture Department projected corn (maize) plantings of 90. Corn prices on the cash market have doubled since last fall due to explosive growth in the ethanol industry, driving up costs for cattle, dairy, hog and poultry producers. USDA forecasts only a modest rise in food prices this year, but said, "With high corn prices increasing feed costs, beef and poultry price increases should begin to accelerate in 2007. farmers plan...

Thai Food Processors Association (TFPA) president Vilai Kiatsrichart held a press conference following the EU's preliminary hearing on charges of Thailand's alleged sweet corn dumping and subsequent anti-dumping measures including an import tax barrier as high as 13. Thai Food Processors Association (TFPA) president Vilai Kiatsrichart held a press conference following the EU's preliminary hearing on charges of Thailand's alleged sweet corn dumping and subsequent anti-dumping measures...

farmers plan to sow the most acres since World War II in response to increased demand for the grain to make alternative fuel and supply livestock feed. April 2 (Bloomberg) -- Corn plunged by the exchange-imposed limit for a second day as U. Farmers hope to take advantage of corn prices, which have risen 50 percent in the past year and reached a decade-high in February due to record production of ethanol, used as a substitute or additive to gasoline. The surge in corn prices in the past...

Corn should be planted by mid-May for good yields and soybeans can be planted as late as June, which could be a fallback plan for farmers if corn doesn't get planted in time. On Thursday, Cuban leader Fidel Castro wrote in an editorial for the Communist Party daily newspaper that President Bush's ethanol plan could deplete corn and other food stocks in developing nations, putting the lives of 3 billion people at risk worldwide. On Thursday, Cuban leader Fidel Castro wrote in an editorial...