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Non-Tech : Farming -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jon Koplik who wrote (260)	8/24/2007 11:49:01 AM
From: richardred	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4443

>(I agree whole-heartedly) Maybe it's time for corn bread.<G>

To: Jon Koplik who wrote (260)	9/4/2007 11:55:49 PM
From: Jon Koplik	Respond to of 4443

WSJ on : "Wheat's Surge to Pinch Wallets" ...................................................... September 5, 2007 Wheat's Surge to Pinch Wallets Food Prices Face Increasing Pressure As Futures Hit High By TOM POLANSEK CHICAGO -- Consumers in the coming months will have to pony up a little more money at the grocery store for flour, bread and other baked goods as record wheat futures prices are driving up food costs, analysts said. Wheat futures have soared this summer amid serious crop losses in key growing areas of the Northern Hemisphere, including Europe and the Black Sea region. Dryness in Australia also threatens to slash production Down Under for the second year in a row. Trader anxiety over shrinking world supplies lifted nearby-month Chicago Board of Trade wheat futures to a record of $8.10 per bushel, exceeding the previous high of $8.05 set Friday. The contract settled at $8.07, up 40 cents. A year ago, it traded at $4.04. Consumers don't typically feel the impact of fluctuations in wheat futures on their pocketbooks because the grain only makes up a small amount of the total cost of a food product. Other costs, including packaging and marketing, account for much more of the final sticker price. However, the sharp rise in wheat futures in recent weeks is out of the ordinary and the increase will trickle down to consumers, analysts said. "The increase in wheat prices is not insignificant whatsoever," said Michael Swanson, an agricultural economist with Wells-Fargo. Prices for products that most resemble the raw commodity, such as flour, will increase the most and the fastest, Mr. Swanson said. Highly branded and "differentiated" products, such as Wheat Thins snack crackers, should see slower and more modest increases because they have more profit-margin already built in. It may be a year or more before rising commodity prices translate into steeper prices for the highly differentiated products, but prices for undifferentiated products can increase almost immediately, Mr. Swanson said. "There's no way [millers] can keep flour at the same price if they had to pay 2.5 times as much for wheat," Mr. Swanson said. Still, the amount of wheat used in many baked goods remains relatively small, said Pat Westhoff, an economist at the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at the University of Missouri-Columbia. Therefore, consumers shouldn't expect to pay twice as much for bread and crackers at the checkout because futures are double what they were a year ago. Erica Peterson, a marketing specialist at the North Dakota Wheat Commission, agreed it was important to remember that wheat makes up "a very small percentage" of many products. "Obviously since prices have gone quite a bit higher in the last year, that's probably going to have somewhat of an effect on the final price" of food products, Ms. Peterson said. "I think we'll see a small increase." In some wheat-based cereals, for example, wheat is responsible for less than 4% of the total manufacturing cost, one analyst said. U.S. wheat futures rallied this summer as the global production problems left the U.S. as the primary source for high-quality milling wheat. The London-based International Grains Council recently pegged 2007-08 ending stocks -- what's left over after accounting for supply and demand -- at their lowest since 1979-1980. In other commodity markets: COPPER: Futures declined as U.S. economic data gave traders a bearish outlook for demand for the metal, analysts said. September copper contract fell 8.85 cents to settle at $3.3225 a pound on the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange. CRUDE OIL: Futures rose to a one-month high on refinery glitches, renewed predictions of an active tail end to the Atlantic hurricane season and expectations for declines in petroleum stockpiles in U.S. data this week. Light, sweet crude oil for October delivery settled $1.04, or 1.4%, higher at $75.08 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Copyright © 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

To: Jon Koplik who wrote (260)	11/9/2007 1:20:47 AM
From: Jon Koplik	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 4443

Wheat back around $7.50 again (after visiting $9.50+) ....................................... November 9, 2007 Wheat Futures Drop on Poor Export Sales Order Cancellations Are Poised to Rise Amid Lower Prices By TOM POLANSEK Wall Street Journal Wheat futures tumbled as weekly export sales sank to a marketing-year low and countries backed out of previous purchases made at higher prices, analysts said. Benchmark Chicago Board of Trade December wheat fell 25.75 cents to $7.62 a bushel, its lowest close since Aug. 29. The contract has eased nearly $2 off its all-time high of $9.6175, set Sept. 28. Prices collapsed after the Agriculture Department reported export sales for the week ended Nov. 1 were 14,600 metric tons, 98% below the prior four-week average and well below trade expectations. Significant cancellations and buybacks helped keep sales in the dumps. Countries that bought U.S. wheat near record highs have been opting out of their purchases now that prices are lower and will likely continue to do so, analysts said. Prices climbed this summer and fall as global production problems stoked fears about supply shortages and prompted countries to overbuy on wheat, said Tim Hannagan, analyst for Alaron Trading in Chicago. Now, there is no more fear that the world will run out of wheat, he said. "They were overbooking and overbuying wheat, thinking we could have $13 wheat or something," he said, referring to importing countries. "Nobody knew. Those same countries that were panic buying are now not buying at all." Egypt, a major buyer on the world market, helped push wheat futures to record levels this summer with a string of large purchases. However, in the past week, it canceled an order for 57,000 tons of soft red winter wheat, used in cakes and pastries. Countries will live hand-to-mouth, buying wheat only as they need it, Mr. Hannagan said. If they can, many importers may defer purchases until next year, when prices are expected to fall due to increased production, he said. In other commodities markets: CRUDE OIL: Futures fell for the second day in a row after price support from oil-supply disruptions, in places such as the North Sea, was undercut by deepening worries about the U.S. economy. Light, sweet crude for December delivery fell 91 cents, or 0.9%, to settle at $95.46 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. COPPER: Futures declined as participants continued pricing in global economic worries and inventories kept rising. There was little reaction to BHP Billiton's offer to buy rival miner Rio Tinto. The nearby November copper contract fell 5.40 cents to $3.1970 a pound while the most-active December copper contract fell 5.5 cents to $3.2040 on the Comex division of Nymex. Copyright © 2007 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved.