Fresh off the wire and around the horn this morning:
* Rabobank is predicting that US corn prices will hit record highs in the first half of the year as the market tries to buy acreage, DJ reported this afternoon. The bank also sees a "risk of a return to widespread government intervention through stockpiling or trade bans appearing increasingly likely in 2011" for grains markets generally.
* Spoke with our own Mike McGinnis, Marketeye, who's on a ten-hour drive in Brazil to his next farm stop. He's reporting now that there are some serious harvest delays in parts of Brazil, that beans are late maturing, and that there could be a "huge bottleneck" in the system before it's all over. Here's a link to a fine set of reports from Brazil by Mike:
http://www.agriculture.com/news/crops/scoping-out-brazils-crops_2-ar14586
* Corn futures bounced back mid-morning to match a 31-month high. The declines were countered by "investor buying amid the market's need to push prices to levels that may ration usage," DJ said. CBOT March corn recently traded 4c higher at $7.02/bushel.
* Russia is expected to maintain its ban on grain exports until 2012, according to one source.
" USDA Chief Economist Joe Glauber is taking tough questions at a commodity conference regarding federal mandates for use of corn-based ethanol," according to Dow Jones. "Some agriculture industry members worry strong demand for ethanol threatens the food supply, as end-of-season US corn stocks are projected to come in at a 15-year low. Nearly 40% of the US corn crop is used to make ethanol, but Glauber says that segment "just isn't responding much to price."
* ICE cotton futures have set a new post-Civil War high after India said it would leave this season's export quota unchanged, ending ideas that the second-largest cotton grower could ease global supply concerns with its exports. March Cotton was recently trading up 2.3% at $1.8483/pound.
* Lean hog futures are expected to open firm on support from flat to stronger indications in the cash markets and a modest gain in wholesale pork prices Wednesday."
* Gas futures are falling on a warmer weather outlook.
