If the USDA forecast is accurate, that would be the lowest acreage for cotton since 1975 and the lowest acreage for soybeans since 1964. Most northeastern Louisiana farmers had an ideal March to get the corn crop into the fields with unseasonably high temperatures, although producers were sweating out a late freeze this weekend that could damage the young stalks. But Hardwick said the reduced cotton acreage will allow the surplus cotton from 2006 to be moved out of the warehouses and onto...

Generally, the growth of the ethanol industry likely will reduce the amount of corn available for exports or livestock feed. However, the higher corn prices may be negative for some of the livestock producers that will have to bid for corn against ethanol plants and foreign exports. In a short crop year, the potential is for very strong corn prices as ethanol plants and other corn-dependent industries bid for limited stocks. If there is a short crop from either a drought or flooding, it is...

Agriculture Department estimates that Louisiana farmers have planted 700,000 acres of corn this year, the most since 1978. Freezes could have devasted the corn crop. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The National Weather Service had issued freeze warnings for Saturday and Sunday mornings. But Franklin Parish producer Jack Dailey said the lowest temperature he heard of in the region was 34 degrees. Collins said some cornfields have received little...

By Marianne Stigset and Tom Cahill Bloomberg News Published: April 10, 2007 E-Mail Article Listen to Article Printer-Friendly 3-Column Format Translate Share Article Add to Clippings Text Size LONDON: Corn investors are gleeful about the first bear market in two years. By Marianne Stigset and Tom Cahill Bloomberg News Published: April 10, 2007 E-Mail Article Listen to Article Printer-Friendly 3-Column Format Translate Share Article Add to Clippings Text Size LONDON: Corn investors are...

With corn prices up and cotton at break-even levels, the northeastern Louisiana farmer considers corn his best bet and for the first time in more than a decade will plant no cotton. Cotton acreage is expected to decline across the South this season as farmers, faced with high production costs and cotton from last season remaining unsold, move to corn or soybeans, crops with higher profit potential. The sharpest decline is projected for Mississippi and Louisiana; farmers in Louisiana, where...