Soybean Prices

The price of soybeans is high, really high when you consider how many bushels of the crop are in storage around the globe. Todd Gleason files report on whether a drastic drop in the soybean market is on the horizon. Gleason: There are lot places in the world that grow soybeans. U.S farmers harvest their bean crop in August, September and October. The same goes in China. And then six months later - in the months of March, April, and May - farmers in South America bring in a harvest of the oilseed. The miracle crop grows well in lots of places around the globe. Thats why there are a lot of soybeans available today and the prospect for an historic amount in a few short months says University of Illinois Extension Ag Economist Darrel Good. Good: We have what looks like a record harvest in South America…. …the market just continues to show strength. Gleason: This strength - tendency for the price of soybeans at the Chicago Board of Trade to stay strong or move higher - is based on the idea that the current surpluses could quickly turn in to a shortage as some of the acres dedicated to soybean production are switch to corn to feed the expanding global ethanol industry. Good :The question is really, in front of the market, what kind of…. ….own up to what acres we do plant. Gleason: In his February 12 Weekly Outlook newsletter… that can be found on the FarmDOC website at FarmDOC.uiuc.edu …the U of I Ag Economist asked and answered that acreage question. He says U.S. farmers could plant 12 million fewer acres of soybeans this spring and the world would still have plenty of supply. Good: The problem I have is the talk that a 5 to 6 million… …anytime in the soybean market. Gleason: Eventually, he says, the market will have to own up to actual projected supply and the price of soybeans will go down. Predicting when is a tougher question.