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Pat Hill DTN Markets Editor

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Thursday Apr 19, 2007

Demand Keeps Coming From Novel Sources

Surfboards, couch foam, disposable cups, Astro Turf, candles, and even body panels for combines are all potential products from bio-based plastics being developed by Cargill in Blair, Nebraska. Along with ethanol, these applications represent the growing demand for US corn and soybeans, continuing to provide support for historically-high grain prices. "The economics of making chemicals from carbohydrates instead of hydrocarbons is also blurring boundaries between industries. Grain-processing companies are making chemicals and chemical companies are processing grain," as Scott Kilman of the Wall Street Journal reported today.

Posted at 01:09PM CDT Apr 19, 2007 by Elaine Kub

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Blog Home Pages

	February 2010
S	M	T	W	T	F	S
	1 Some Numbers on That Wet Corn -- Elevators' Dilemma Jan Cash Soybean Index Range Wider Cash Indexes Finish Week under Pressure	2 Winter Wheat Ratings, Some Corn Harvest Progress USDA Baselines Wheat Basis Inching Up	3 Bigger World Soy Crops -- What Does It Mean? Informa: Big Crops Bigger Cash Bids Show Some Life	4 Still Seeing Corn in the Field Corn Quality Issues Big Step Back for Cash Bids	5 Testing A Truism: Bean:Corn Ratio and Planting Canadian Wheat, Canola, Barley Stocks Tighter Cash Bids Bounce	6
7	8 The Show Must Go On Basis Gains Evident Last Week Basis Gains Evident Last Week	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
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Recent Blog Posts

The Show Must Go On

Mon Feb 8, 2010 12:13 PM CST
-- Reports as Scheduled Tuesday Morning

Basis Gains Evident Last Week

Mon Feb 8, 2010 11:44 AM CST
Not much net movement in cash grain bids last week, as some big advances on one day were offset by equally dramatic losses the next. But through it all, the basis continued to strengthen.

Basis Gains Evident Last Week

Testing A Truism: Bean:Corn Ratio and Planting

Fri Feb 5, 2010 09:35 AM CST
It's one of those bromides that's been in the industry forever -- that the ratio between new crop beans and corn futures is a good indicator of upcoming shifts in acreage.

Canadian Wheat, Canola, Barley Stocks Tighter

Fri Feb 5, 2010 08:34 AM CST
The Dec 31 Canadian Grain Stocks report released early Friday seems to confirm earlier government estimates of last year's crop size.

Cash Bids Bounce

Fri Feb 5, 2010 06:07 AM CST
Despite a big sell-off in outside commodities, corn, soybeans and wheat futures found new life on Thursday, and merchandisers raised cash bids accordingly.

Still Seeing Corn in the Field

Thu Feb 4, 2010 01:26 PM CST
A long-time DTN subscriber called Wednesday to remind me that there's still a lot of corn out in those fields, and he thinks any of it that has ears covered with snow won't be fit to harvest.

Corn Quality Issues

Thu Feb 4, 2010 11:38 AM CST
The quality of the 2009 corn harvest may turn out to be as big or bigger an issue than how many bushels farmers actually harvested.

Big Step Back for Cash Bids

Thu Feb 4, 2010 06:18 AM CST
Merchandisers quickly reversed course Wednesday, taking back earlier week advances in corn, soybean and wheat bids.

Bigger World Soy Crops -- What Does It Mean?

Wed Feb 3, 2010 12:45 PM CST
If private estimates are right, world soybean supplies could top 300 million metric tons this year. There's still plenty of demand, but it still implies a record-large stocks-to-use ratio.

Informa: Big Crops Bigger

Wed Feb 3, 2010 10:47 AM CST
South American soybean and corn production will be bigger than indicated in earlier estimates, private analytical firm Informa told clients this morning.

Cash Bids Show Some Life

Wed Feb 3, 2010 06:07 AM CST
Merchandisers were able to raise bids for corn, beans and wheat Tuesday, following gains on the board and continuing basis strength.

Winter Wheat Ratings, Some Corn Harvest Progress

Tue Feb 2, 2010 02:39 PM CST
Monday afternoon, several states released crop conditions reports for January. While a lot can change in the coming months, there are a few tidbits worth a quick look.

USDA Baselines

Tue Feb 2, 2010 02:09 PM CST
A co-worker once characterized long-term projections as nothing more than "a monkey with a straightedge" -- a lesson I've long taken to heart, but anyone who tries to make up a budget knows you need a starting point, even if you know everything is going to change so much that whatever you project is likely to be wrong.

Wheat Basis Inching Up

Tue Feb 2, 2010 06:14 AM CST
Wheat basis strengthened a little more Monday, continuing a pattern that's been in play for the last month or so.

Some Numbers on That Wet Corn -- Elevators' Dilemma

Mon Feb 1, 2010 09:16 AM CST
Now that the 2009 corn harvest is [almost] history, it's time to take stock of what worked, what didn't, and where to go from here.

Jan Cash Soybean Index Range Wider

Mon Feb 1, 2010 06:36 AM CST
January saw the widest range in daily cash soybean bids since September.

Cash Indexes Finish Week under Pressure

Mon Feb 1, 2010 06:04 AM CST
Friday's trade brought no relief to the pressure on cash bids that's been evident since Jan. 12, with the cash indexes all lower for the day and for the week.

Narrow Gains in Cash Thursday

Fri Jan 29, 2010 06:05 AM CST
Cash indexes clawed back a few cents Thursday, but the futures failed to pick up much traction overnight, so the week and the month could wind up under pressure.

What They Said

Thu Jan 28, 2010 02:39 PM CST
Money flowing out of commodities, reasons for the firming basis, price outlook, 2010 yield outlook, macro economic factors -- we turned up some interesting ideas relating to these topics among comments of some of DTN's Premium Service Providers.