Department of Agriculture reported that farmers this year planted the fewest acres of soybeans in more than a decade. The decline in soybean acreage came as farmers switched to corn to take advantage of record high prices. Soybean prices surged to the market limit after the USDA said that acreage dedicated to soybeans slid 15 percent to 64. Rapid growth in demand for corn-based ethanol drove corn prices above $4 a bushel several times this year, compared with a 10-year average price of...

The corn stockpile could be roughly 500 million bushels larger than expected a month ago because of the upturn in corn plantings and a quarterly USDA report showing more corn was in warehouses than expected. Demand for corn will continue to grow in the near term despite mammoth crops. Ethanol production is forecast to double by the end of 2008 to more than 13 billion gallons. A bushel of corn, the major feedstock for ethanol, yields 2.8 gallons of the renewable fuel. It meant "a little...

The second paragraph of the article was the attention-grabber, perhaps because of its cut-to-the-chase quality; no intro, just, bam! -- a quote from Layne Ballard, executive director for USDA's Farm Service Agency in Frederick: "We have seen the number of minority and women producers being nominated increase significantly in recent years and FSA would like to see that trend continue. The second paragraph of the article was the attention-grabber, perhaps because of its cut-to-the-chase...

Analysis: Commodities boom makes itself felt in the supermarket - May-23 Ethanol: Smart money is riding on the next-generation fuels - May-08 Palm oil bull run likely to continue - May-02 Wind changes in favour of biofuels - Jun-19 US ethanol producers plan to tap investors - Jun-19 Carmakers press EU on biofuels - Jun-25 In depth. Analysis: Commodities boom makes itself felt in the supermarket - May-23 Ethanol: Smart money is riding on the next-generation fuels - May-08 Palm oil bull run...

Farmers this year planted the most corn since the waning days of World War II, outpacing already high expectations for the crop, according to a federal report issued yesterday. The record for corn planting was set in 1944, as American farmers responded to a huge demand for the crop in war-torn Europe. Soybean planting estimates are 4.6 million acres, down 19 percent from last year. Fueled by high demand and high prices for corn, farmers planted an estimated 92. In Indiana, the surveys...