Fertilizer Markets and Finance

Corn won back some ground in the battle against soybeans to attract area in US farmers’ planting schedules amid talk of a shortage of seed, and of South American growers planning huge sowings of the oilseed.

With new crop November soybeans falling in Chicago, and new crop December corn making some headway, a much-watched ratio between the two contracts fell back below the key level of 2.50:1.

The 2.50:1 point represents “a big number”, Don Roose, president at broker US Commodities said, in that it marks the tipping point between encouraging corn sowing, at smaller numbers, or soybean plantings, at higher levels where the ratio has tended to since US Department of Agriculture sowings numbers two weeks ago.

A USDA survey showed farmers intending to plant their highest acreage with corn in 75 years, in part at the expense of soybeans, despite the prospect of US stocks of the oilseed becoming depleted as importers seek replacement supplies for those lost to disappointing South American harvests.

Rad more at Agrimoney