Department of Agriculture projects that farmers will boost corn acreage from 80 million in 2006 to 94 million acres this year. Coincidence? Corn is primarily fed to cows, hogs, and chickens, so higher corn prices should lead to higher prices for milk, beef, pork, poultry and eggs. Most of the increased acreage devoted to corn will come from reduced soybean acreage. The prices for other food crops jump when corn goes up because farmers choose to plant less of them. In addition, agricultural...

Times staff writer PEKIN - Havana farmer Maxine Wallbaum has farmed all her life through multiple generations and the family has always planted wheat. That attracts farmers even though the demand for corn and soy beans for ethanol and bio-diesel fuel has pushed the price per bushel for corn and soy beans to comparable prices. John Wallbaum harvests a winter wheat crop east of Havana on a hot and humid afternoon last week. She said John said he was very happy the family planted wheat...

The question is how much and what will the long-term effect be on corn going into feed or food? But it's a hot market, and when there's a hot market, people want to get in. Farmers who normally rotate their corn crop will need to decide if the cost entailed in replanting corn after corn is worthwhile. Closer to home, the numbers show that in large counties in the Midwest, which includes both Lake and Porter in Indiana, food prices rose 3.4 percent over last year. The overseas market in the...

The summer respite will find barbecuing, baseball, boating and other summertime pleasures the order of the day, capped off by evening fireworks displays. But after the Fourth of July holiday period, grain futures traders will even more keenly focus on the critical timeframe that occurs after the holiday. Here is what Conrad Leslie, the longtime and highly respected crop forecaster and market commentator, told me a few years ago: "Following the July Fourth holiday period, those who are...

Only about 11 percent of the winter wheat crop had been harvested as of June 17, compared with the 20 percent average for the previous five years, the U. winter wheat areas has not been favorable for harvesting,'' said Chikako Inoue, an analyst at futures broker Taiheiyo Bussan co. ''But for corn and soybeans, it's a different story as there's been little rain. Department of Agriculture earlier this month reduced its estimate of Ukraine's crop to 14 million metric tons, from 17. Corn and...