Bloomberg Agriculture Wheat and Corn

March 31 (Bloomberg) -- Wheat gained the most in almost two weeks after a government report projected a decline in planting and as North Dakota floods may delay spring seeding.

U.S. farmers intend to plant the grain on 58.638 million acres this year, down 7.1 percent from 2008, the Department of Agriculture said today in a report. Rain and snow in the northern Great Plains has caused flooding and muddied fields, possibly delaying the start of spring-wheat seeding next month.

“The wheat acres were a little lower” than expected, said Jason Britt, the president of Central States Commodities Inc. “We very well could see some abandonment in North Dakota. It would not be surprising to see a little bit more of those acres shift to soybeans.”

Wheat futures for May delivery rose 20.25 cents, or 4 percent, to $5.3275 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. The price still is down 13 percent this year, partly on increased global production and declining demand for U.S. grain.

Growers will plant spring wheat on 13.304 million acres, 5.9 percent less than last year, the USDA said in the report. Traders estimated 13.671 million acres would be sown with the spring variety, the average of 11 surveyed by Bloomberg News. more...

Corn prices rose to a 10-week high after a U.S. government report showed demand for the crop used in livestock feed was higher than forecast in the three months ended Feb. 28.

Stockpiles as of March 1 increased 1.5 percent to 6.958 billion bushels from a year ago, the Department of Agriculture said today in a report. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News forecast an average 7.012 billion. Corn, also used to make ethanol, is the biggest U.S. crop.

“The quarterly grain stocks were just a little lower than average trade guesses, showing some pretty good feed demand,” said Lawrence Kane, a market adviser at Stewart-Peterson Group in Elmwood, Illinois. “We’re producing maximum meat” from the reduced numbers of animals on feed because producers are selling hogs and cattle at higher slaughter weights, Kane said.

Corn futures for May delivery rose 18.5 cents, or 4.8 percent, to $4.0475 a bushel on the Chicago Board of Trade. Earlier, the price reached $4.06, the highest since Jan. 20. The most-active contract, which rose 13 percent in March, declined 0.6 percent in the quarter, the third straight drop.

Cold, wet weather, forecast in parts of the Midwest and South during the next 10 days, may reduce the number of corn acres, analysts said. Farmers try to finish planting by May 10 to prevent yield losses from extreme heat in July and August, when corn reproduces and fills kernels with sugars and starch. more...