One reason the number of corn acres planted was increased was due to the high prices on corn. Compared to the last few years the corn yields were down 20 to 25 percent while the soybeans yields have been up and down for the past several years. In fact, Dubbelde indicated that the number of acres of corn planted in the area was up 20 to 25 percent. The highest prices for corn this past summer climbed above $4. As the growing season progressed this year it was obvious to anyone driving along...

Corn farmers are pushing for more ethanol production as the industry creates an enormous new market for their crop, giving corn prices the kind of lift they have not seen in years. The Mexican government this week put a cap on tortilla prices after prices shot up between 20 and 30 percent over uncertainty that there would be enough U. Markets Ethanol boom, rising corn prices divide farm lobbyists. Meat, dairy, and other food producers are pushing back against the ethanol boom as higher...

We are highlighting 20 stocks that (a) we expect to be beneficiaries of the forecast rise in agricultural prices, (b) screen well on Credit Suisse HOLT and our composite valuation screen and/or (c) are Outperform or Neutral rated by Credit Suisse/Credit Suisse Standard Securities analysts. It is not only a good proxy to rising palm oil prices (72% of its profits are expected to be derived from plantations), it will also be a restructuring play. The Malaysian and Indonesian plantation...

Corn is very competitive against other grains, which have attractive international prices and are being exported. Although corn is continuing to substitute for scarce feed-quality wheat, other nongrain feed ingredients (e. Strong export demand and indications of a smaller crop have kept prices firm. India corn is doubled to 500,000 tons because of improved crop prospects. United States barley is raised 150,000 tons to 300,000 because of tight stocks resulting in an increased need for...

But in eastern Ethiopia, drought and deforestation often spell agricultural disaster for farmers and herders trying to earn a meager living from the land. Catholic Relief Services and more than a dozen other humanitarian agencies that distribute food aid worldwide are urging Congress to mandate that at least half of the Title II Food for Peace budget - a minimum of $600 million - be set aside in a "safebox," to be used exclusively for development programs that fight chronic hunger like...

Still, area farmers and grain buyers say they are having no problems marketing corn or soybeans --- 91 percent of the nation's soybean acres are biotech --- this year. Domestic consumers readily feed and process genetically-modified corn and soybeans once it is federally approved as safe. One out of five bushels of corn will be exported this year, or 2.15 billion bushels, according to government projections. Despite the reluctance of some countries to buy all genetically-altered grain,...