Monday March 29th, 2010

Corn closed barely in the green today, being pushed into positive territory by a weaker dollar and increase in crude prices, along with soaring soy. Weather forecast are calling for a warm-up in the Midwest this week, which should help to get spring field work going, but outlooks for a rain shower at the end of week are in the picture. Analysts are expecting the government to project increased U.S. corn acreage in 2010 as producers abandon wheat, and corn supplies are expected to be ample.

Estimates from the 23 analysts in the survey ranged from 87 million to 90.15 million. Although corn acreage has in recent months been expected to climb this year due to a decline in wheat acres, soggy soil conditions in the Midwest have tempered those expectations somewhat, as analysts argue that farmers could be compelled to plant soybeans instead of risking delayed corn planting, which typically harms yields.