Soybeans are hot!

Soybean futures opened like a house afire this morning on the Chicago Board of Trade, up 20 cents per bushel to $14.43 with some traders predicting $15 beans soon.

Soybeans gained 30 cents per bushel Friday on the Chicago Board and kept up the momentum in overnight electronic trading.

Corn also opened strong, up 5 cents per bushel to a record $7.72 for the December contract.

Iowa is the nation’s leading producer of both corn and soybeans. The two crops are expected to generate more than $20 billion in cash receipts from the 2011 harvest.

Both corn and soybeans are seeing price increases after the latest private crop forecast, by Pro Farmer last Friday, predicted U.S. corn yields of 148 bushels per acre and soybeans at 41 bushels per acre. That is down from the last U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates of 153 bushels per acre for corn and 53 bushels per acre for soybeans.

Broker Tomm Pfitzenmaier of Summit Commodities in Urbandale said traders are worried about the U.S. soybean crop in light of below average rainfall in Iowa and Illinois. Parts of both states now are officially classified as being in drought conditions.

He also said traders, eying the high corn prices, are assuming even fewer acres will be planted for soybeans next year. Soybean acres in the U.S. have declined steadily in the last five years as more acres have shifted to corn for ethanol use.

“The weekly crop condition rating report due out this afternoon is expected to show another 1 to 2 percentage points of decline in the good/excellent category,” Pfitzenmaier said. “The beans are following the corn and wheat higher and bean traders are increasingly talking about the potential for decline in both South American and US acres next year, so that may be a part of the reason for the strong interest in being long beans.”

http://blogs.desmoinesregister.com/dmr/index.php/2011/08/29/soybeans-are-hot/