Only a bailout will save farmers(F them?) All the while no one speaks of the impact on these supplies when the meat & dairy herds of Europe are replaced. Is it possible we might see the greatest price reversal in history in the next 6-18 months? rh
Tuesday April 10, 8:48 am Eastern Time
Corn Surplus Largest in Eight Years
By Charles Abbott
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. corn surplus was climbing toward its highest level in eight years -- a mammoth 1.936 billion bushels, the government said on Tuesday, with spring planting expected to show growers cutting back on corn in favor of soybeans.
In a monthly look at crop output and food demand worldwide, the Agriculture Department said the U.S. soybean stockpile would be stable with an estimated 310 million bushels in storage when the fall harvest started. Prices for corn and soybeans were at 15- to 25-year lows.
At 829 million bushels, the wheat stockpile would be 12 percent, or 121 million bushels, smaller than a year ago.
The government estimates of carry-over supplies were changed modestly from March. The corn surplus was up 10 million bushels, soybeans down 20 million bushels and wheat down by five million bushels. A slowdown in textile use would drive up the cotton stockpile to 5 million bales weighing 480 pounds each, an increase of 200,000 bales.
``These are token amounts,'' private analyst John Schnittker said, referring to the adjustments in corn, wheat and soybean figures. ``We've had a premonition that wheat and corn exports would decline...There are no blockbusters.''
A corn surplus of 1.936 billion bushels would be the largest since the 2.113 billion bushel carry-over from the 1992 crop.
Two weeks ago, the department's Prospective Plantings report showed farmers would plant a record 76.7 million acres of soybeans, up 3 percent. Corn sowings would drop by 4 percent, to 76.7 million acres, and wheat seedings, at 60.3 million acres, would be the smallest since 1973.
Smaller wheat and corn seedings could lead to smaller crops and begin to eat into stockpiles, analysts say.
A recovery in prices was months away at the earliest. Congress has provided nearly $25 billion in farm bailouts since late 1998 and another multibillion-dollar rescue was expected this year. The House and Senate have taken preliminary votes in favor of aid but have not started writing a package.
``I think the administration position is that at this point, people are just now planting; it's difficult to tell what types of emergency may arise during the course of the summer,'' Agriculture Secretary Ann Veneman said on Tuesday. .
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