MONDAY. APRIL 2. 2012
internationai
b uSlness US farmers to plant the most corn in 75 years T TNITEll StlkS farmers U ¥\o'\l1 plant the most rom in 75 vea,s 10 cash in on hlp,er pno:e>. toppIn& e:),:pectation! al the ~ of !O)'bean and 'Pring wheal !OWings. ao:on:ling to a US gO'Yl!mmenl repJr1onFriday.
Rl'tlters repm1E'1 TIle dmmal c expallStOO l1Iised lqxs t Ill t the nex1 h.1.r'\"est wou..d_nuor-thin 511pp1ies that hi ,"t-' kept rom pritts ncar histHrlc highs. The \gricultu~ Department. ill 'sepe.rat~ report.52idsup,Ik'Sinslont&e as of Man:h I ..... ·re smaller than expected. DlJ kin& a big
('rap impenm-e -001"1 forward, it's going to bt. aD about the 1)lantin& weather: !l8ki Don Roose, president of u.s. Commodities. Despite the early prospcdS for a bumper crop, Com, wheat and soybean futures rose mongly on the surprisingly tighl yain slocb. Com tOt- dejn'el)' in May wml -um:it up,- risin& by 1M maximllm amount allowed in. day of 40 cents.. The climb of 6.6 percent to $6-44 a bushel was the
biggest pin for rom since Oct u
5o)beam W'er"e up 3 percent, to asix-month b4h of$1.4.oubusht-l,andwheat was up nearly 8 pen:ent, the bigget increasesinceOct IL The farm sedor is eruoylng a boom that da les from 2006 liS food
manufacturen; sucb as Brock Grain Systems, owned by Berkshire Ilathaway, and p~ such as ArcherDaniels-Midland Co. l1le increase in com acres and dedine in soy BC!"CS is particularly positi\~
demllnd rose worldwide and biofuels helped spur crol' production Yi'ith lann inconle It rerord highs, fa.rmers kin'!!' IIpdalfd their tillage equipment 100 built more storage bInS, makin& business for equipment
for fertili.w:r producer CF tndustries. which is weighted more heavily in the production of nitrosen fertili7.a- need to grow com. saki Jeff Stafford, equity ITUlI}-sI for Morningstar.
makers like Detore !k Co and AGCOCorp, ~oompanies
such as Monsanto Co. bin
Soybeam don't require nilrc«en fertilizer. CF Induslnes was up 2..2 per cent at 185-5. ...-bile rival
fenilizer maker Mosaic was up just 0·3 per cental 55-43Bunge lJd, the ~'Orid's lOp oi~ proce5lIOf". could take a hit from the decline in soy plantings. Stafford said. tiowevet", gram rompames aoo could make more money by transpurting mcreased ,'OIumes of crops around lhe world. -For a grain Lrttder li~ Bunge, they make IltCn money from the higlM!f' miUJ1lell oflOOd that are shipptd,~ he said. Bunge WlllI up 1.7 peroenl at 68-38, while ADM "'"1l! up 1-4 per cent at 31.7. ~wasupo.s pet" D!:nt to 80.90.
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Anolht-r year of ruIJthrottle otllpul IS on the horizon USDA e:5I.imates &T"OW!!f'S will plant the iargesl a.re:3 10
lhe dAht major
rtdd
.:om. wheal, rice, cotton, SO)wns. sorghum, barley and OllIS - since tl)98 crops -
lind up 1 pereenl from 20 11. In
USDA's
pmspecth.~
annual
plantings
survey. famten: said they would exJllllld com planting by 4 pet'll!':nl from 2011, ...i1ich ~ analyst expectaoonsor94.]2 million aaes. tawa, the No 1 .:om state, woukl p1anl a m:onI amount efland 10 com.
~n p~ntings ...~ projec1ed to fall 1 perrent nationwide from last year to 73.9 million acres. increasing .:oncems about tightening &JobaI supphes of the oilseed due 10 poor ha~ in South Amenc:a. Analysts had expected !ny plantings 10 increruJe to T~ million ~
-Acreage is expected to shin to com: the USDA said In many states. com
offers higher relurns thlln
Advertise your
• VACANCY • T RAINING • WORKSHOP
cQ, • SE MINAR IN
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WEDNESDAYS!
rontpeting trapS. In Iowa, com planting would be up by rour per cent while !lU)'beans drop six per D!:nt. Nebraska, No three in rom, wou1d expand rom 8lU by five pet" cenl
while lrimmi", SO)"beans by 4 pe:n1!'nt and wheal by II percent lIIinotS, No 2 in rom and soybeaM to Iowa,
would boost ",ybean area by 100.000 acres, or one per oml. while eultlll& com by the same amounL Bi& com plantlnp shoukl replenish I stockpile that is forecast 10 shnnk 10 its hwet ~-d since 1996 by the Sept 1 end 0( !Ius marketing If f'aflT1ers sttdc to their pia ns, it woukl be the most corn planted 97.2 million acres in 1937.
)1!'llr.
USDA
estimaled fanners
will 1>llInt 12 million acres
of spring wheal other than durum. with I ruon:I low number or acre: seeded in South Dakota.. ThaI is down 3 percent from last ~r Ind below the I'~ge trade eslJmak 01 l3.313 million
""'. USDA's prnJI!CI.ion
rot a lotal wheal planled area. 0( 55.9 million ~ ....as up three per cenl from 2011 but 1'i~1I bekJw the iJ\1!rage analysl estimate of 57422 million aeftS. Growers mtended to plant 13·2 million acres of cotton, down 11 pe!' cent from last ymr, and 2.56 million acres of rice, down 5 pcn:ent. lK."tOrding 10 the USDA
"""n. With
normal
weather
Ind yields. the com har.1!SI W()Uld be I rtrorrl 1.4.5 billion bn~tlels, lip 10 per cent (rom the mark set in , tlccorrlmg to
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