Crop prices surge as drought curbs production

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CHICAGO — Soybeans surged to a record and corn jumped after participants on the Professional Farmer Midwest Crop Tour said yields would fall in both the eastern and western Corn Belt.

Soybean pods, an indication of potential yield, in South Dakota totaled 584.9 per 3-square-feet, 47 percent lower than in 2011, according to tour participants. Corn output may average 74.3 bushels an acre, also down 47 percent.

Corn production in the western two-thirds of Ohio is forecast to fall 29 percent to 110.5 bushels an acre and soybean pods totaled 1,034 in a 3- square-foot sample, down 17 percent from last year.

“Pod counts — everybody’s seeing they’re low and the Pro Farmer Tour is reinforcing those ideas,” Dan Cekander, the director of grain research at Newedge in Chicago, said by telephone. “There are a lot of sub-100 bushel corn out there, and that makes people nervous.”

Soybean futures for November delivery rose 2.9 percent to settle at $17.325 a bushel at 2 p.m. on the Chicago Board of Trade, after reaching an all-time high of $17.34. The price has gained 32 percent since June 15. Soybean meal, used to make animal feed, touched a record $527.90 per 2,000 pounds today.

Corn futures for December delivery jumped 1.8 percent to $8.3875 a bushel in Chicago. The price earlier reached $8.40, the highest since rallying to a record $8.49 on Aug. 10. The mostactive contract has gained 66 percent since mid-June.

The worst drought since 1956 has cut production of soybeans and corn, causing grain and oilseed prices to surge.

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