Told You So, Told You So!

Average Corn, Wheat Prices at 10-Yr. Highs

Wheat and corn prices have reached 10-year highs, the U.S. Agriculture Department reported Wednesday. Season-average prices are $3.70 to $4.30 a bushel for wheat and $2.25 to $2.65 for corn, the department said in its monthly crop report. The last time prices were that high was 1996.

That is good news to farmers who had a decent wheat crop but provides little comfort to those whose wheat was ravaged by drought.

Conditions improved slightly with rainfall last month in the central Great Plains. Still, as of June 25, nearly half the winter wheat crop, 46 percent, was rated in poor to very poor condition, compared to 17 percent last year.

The forecast for winter wheat production is 15 percent below last year, analysts said. The forecast for winter wheat production is 1.28 billion bushels, up 1 percent from last month's forecast.

The amount of wheat going into animal feed has dropped a little, and as a result, carryover estimates rose by 22 million bushels to 568 million bushels, chief economist Keith Collins said. He said price forecasts rose because prices have been strong.

http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2006Jul12/0,4670,CropReport,00.html