Those varied crops are equally im portant in forming the overall picture of our nation's agriculture. Already we have seen a welcome increase in federal emphasis on specialty crops -- the varied fruits, vegetables and other high- value agricultural products that ac count for more than 50 percent of the nation's farm-product value. Like the nation's agricultural landscape, that of New Jersey is diverse, running the gamut from one of the world's largest high-bush blueberry farms to grape...

An increasing demand for cotton is expected to reduce the surplus on the cotton market and that should move the price up. Over 20,000 cotton bales were ginned from some 1,900 cotton modules making this the best year in the three year history of the gin, said Debra Wolfe, gin manager and comptroller. The cotton gin has increased bale production and more farmers have planted cotton every year since the first bales were ginned in 2005. The cotton price is expected to go up because more acres...

They say prices have nowhere to go but down if the market is flooded with corn. Corn prices have been pumped to near records by more than a hundred ethanol plants that have sprouted as America seeks renewable alternatives to foreign oil. But some farmers and experts warn that there's no guarantee prices will hold. And not everyone has forgotten how a massive grain deal with the Soviet Union in the early 1970s and the 1996 drought in China shot corn prices to record highs -- prices that...

Soybean acreage is expected to be down 8.4 million acres, and spring wheat acreage is projected to decline by 1.1 million acres. This expected surge caused corn prices to be very high during the winter, which led producers to increase acreage to meet the growing demand, he said. Indiana producers were no exception, as corn acreage is expected to be up by 13 percent. Corn for ethanol production is expected to surge by at least 65 percent for the 2007 corn crop compared to last year's crop,...

It is impacting the prices of key commodities such as wheat, cotton, edible oils, and cement, by either making imports feasible or hampering exports. Internationally, gold prices have gone up by $20, but the local prices are almost stable as gold strictly tracks the international prices. Dalal, however, believes that prices may again go up after a month as the New York futures are quoted at a premium of 20 per cent to January 08 delivery spot price. The appreciating rupee has disincentived...