The market took a wait-and-see approach to Monday's session, as uncertainty over potential planting advances for corn this week and what effect that will have on soybean acreage kept many traders sidelined, analysts said. CHICAGO (Dow Jones)--Chicago Board of Trade soybean futures ended a choppy, two-sided session posting modest declines Monday, pulling back from midday gains on end-of-the-session position squaring. However, the variability of field conditions and the length of time that...

The USDA is asking producers of all types of species to register their premises with their respective state ag departments. More detailed information from registered producers will be gathered in private databases, such as those kept by state agencies, breed associations or commodity groups. Sara Eggerss tends to her small Polled Hereford herd as a cold front starts to push the unseasonably warm temperatures away. With technology still in the infancy stage, it s ridiculous to try and...

Recent sub-freezing temperatures likely wiped out the entire fruit crop at Wesler's Orchard, the first total loss in the family-owned orchard's 77-year history. Wesler filled out crop insurance paperwork this week, but the coverage won't come close to making up what the orchard will lose from its fruit sales this year, he said. Warm March weather caused trees to break dormancy and buds to swell earlier than normal, only to be hit by temperatures in the low 20s for five days. Orchard owners...

Delays in corn planting would be translated to more acreage for soybean that could be planted at a later stage in spring. CRUDE palm oil (CPO) futures prices on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives jumped on renewed technical and fresh buying interest and finished at their best levels since December 1998. Recent excessive advances are likely to attract long liquidation profit-taking activities and cause the market to be choppy. The erratic movements in corn prices and changes in planting weather...

In its prospective plantings report, the USDA showed farmers are allocating more land for growing corn in favor of soybeans and wheat. Stocks could show volatility Friday as investors perhaps engage in a bit of window dressing to shore up their portfolios in the final session of the first quarter. Among the economic data, the report that core inflation, which excludes volatile food and energy costs, jumped 0.3 percent in February, could give investors pause Friday. The Commerce Department...