Beans could be bright spot

WATSEKA – Despite what many of us hear, it’s not all bad news out there.

Merrill Crowley with First Choice Commodities in Watseka feels there are good things coming down the road, especially for soybeans which could benefit from an acreage shift. Problems with corn and logistics issues in Argentina should help bean prices.

“They’re having problems getting beans to crush and they are one of the world’s largest crush suppliers,” Crowley told The Central Illinois Farm Network Tuesday afternoon.

Corn negatives include too many acres, poor ethanol demand with plants closing and poor exports. Crowley also notes corn stocks could eventually swell to a large number with the highest stocks-to-use ratio since 1987-88. This could be detrimental, taking the average price from around $3.60 to $3.00, according to Crowley.

USDA gave us some surprises on Tuesday with higher planted acres than we thought for corn. Many aren’t believing USDA’s current corn numbers.

“I expect we are going to see some things changing down the road,” Crowley said.

Some factors to watch include Brazil’s late corn which could get hit with drier weather, reducing the crop size. Also, we have some demand from China and if motorists start using fuel again, DDG’s will rebound.

“Look at the way the prices were,” Crowley added. “Corn almost came back to a positive number (Tuesday) after being six cents lower. Beans closed right at that gap – we need to get above it for the May.”

Crowley can be reached at his office in Watseka: 815-432-2220.