Morrow County Grain Growers                             Pendleton Grain Growers

             Duane Disque or John Ripple                                      Jon Sperl

             1-800-452-7396 or 541-989-8221                           1-800-422-7611 or 541-276-7611

              or Dan Steiner 481-6614 (office), 571-3798 (cell)  graingrowers@centurytel.net

                                                            GOOD MORNING!!!

            Below are the best indicated market bids as of:   9:00  on      12/31/07

***NOTE: Corn values vary depending on delivery location PLEASE call for updates.

            Once again markets are thinly traded this morning on a short trading day. News is sparse, so are traders. Wheat futures are up 5-8, corn is up a couple, beans are down 15. Doesn’t mean a lot either way since the trade is SOOO light, the few that are trading only represent the market today.

            Wednesday will be a very busy day, both in the grain pits and in the grain offices as folks will be lining up to pick up settlements. This has been an incredible year:

            *Battle for corn acres started in January, and was pretty well over by the First of February.

            *USDA’s corn survey showed HUGE acres coming in corn. As it turned out, we needed everyone of them. Even with an increase of 2.4 byn bu corn production, our carryouts ONLY increased by about 400 myn bu.

            *About 10 months ago, Wheat was actually trading a DISCOUNT to corn. A series of weather problems all across the globe saw the S&D’s shift so dramatically that 10 months later SWW is trading at $13.

            *Depending on how the battle for acres gets resolved this spring, this time next year, we could EASILY see wheat trading at a discount to corn…depending on what growers do with acres, and how the weather performs.

            ***FWIW: The Farmers Almanac says the ECB will be cool/ dry (1-2 ° cooler than normal).

The WCB, down the center of the US and all the southern plains will be hot/ wet (good for corn, not so much for wheat. In fact could really hurt wheat quality depending on when/ how wet it gets). The PNW is supposed to …. Yep Hot and DRY.

Have a VERY Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!!

 Morrow County Grain Growers                             Pendleton Grain Growers

             Duane Disque or John Ripple                                      Jon Sperl

             1-800-452-7396 or 541-989-8221                           1-800-422-7611 or 541-276-7611

              or Dan Steiner 481-6614 (office), 571-3798 (cell)  graingrowers@centurytel.net

                                                            GOOD MORNING!!!

            Below are the best indicated market bids as of:   9:00  on      12/28/07

***NOTE: Corn values vary depending on delivery location PLEASE call for updates.

            Markets are lightly mixed this morning. Corn is about breaking even, beans are up 5-7. I can’t wait to see what the markets are gonna do moving toward the end of winter when the acreage battles really get going.

            Monday will be a short trading day, and you can almost feel the lack of enthusiasm from the exporters this morning. Please call for updates…

Fun Trivia:  Sam Sham put the phone back on the cradle and stepped out of the booth.  Just then Shadow pulled his bicycle in front of Sam, and demanded to know who he had just called.  Sam replied,  “ I didn’t call anybody.  I was about to make a call when I realized I didn’t have any change.  I was just going to get some when you pulled up.”  Shadow stared at Sam and said, “ We just received a ransom demand, and it was made from this booth.” Sam quickly responded, “ I saw a tall black man leave this booth not 30 seconds earlier.  All he wore was a “Speedo” bathing suit.  Since the beach is only a block away I didn’t pay much attention.”  What simple test could Shadow arrange to be positive Sam Sham did not place the ransom call?

Since Sam said he hadn’t any coins to place the call, Shadow would only need to examine the coins in the phone for Sam’s fingerprints.

Have a VERY Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!!

 Morrow County Grain Growers                             Pendleton Grain Growers

             Duane Disque or John Ripple                                      Jon Sperl

             1-800-452-7396 or 541-989-8221                           1-800-422-7611 or 541-276-7611

              or Dan Steiner 481-6614 (office), 571-3798 (cell)  graingrowers@centurytel.net

                                                            GOOD MORNING!!!

            Below are the best indicated market bids as of:   9:00  on      12/27/07

***NOTE: Corn values vary depending on delivery location PLEASE call for updates.

            Cash corn is moving on the interior, but so far basis levels have been steady. The market is already talking about the battle for acres with Beans firing the first shot across the bow yesterday, closing the day up 40! They have given back about a dime, corn is lightly mixed while wheat futures are taking a beating today, down 23-25. Markets are in a bit of turmoil after news that ex- Paki prime minister Bhutto has been killed.

            It is not to early to start watching ‘spring’ weather. India and Paki will start harvest in March, and India is reporting “dry” conditions. We mentioned it before, and at grower meetings that IF weather is anything near ‘normal’ wheat production in the “TOP 3” exporters could easily be 1.2 to 1.4 BYN bu more than last year….BUT if weather does not co-operate these prices may seem cheap as the world markets must seek a level to keep the world from running out of wheat till ’09.

Fun Trivia:  What does no man want, yet no man wants to lose?

A bald head

Have a VERY Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!!

***All bids are subject to change, please call for CONFIRMATION of prices. All information in this letter is from sources deemed reliable, and is for informational purposes only**

 Morrow County Grain Growers                             Pendleton Grain Growers

             Duane Disque or John Ripple                                      Jon Sperl

             1-800-452-7396 or 541-989-8221                           1-800-422-7611 or 541-276-7611

              or Dan Steiner 481-6614 (office), 571-3798 (cell)  graingrowers@centurytel.net

                                                            GOOD MORNING!!!

            Below are the best indicated market bids as of:   9:00  on      12/26/07

***NOTE: Corn values vary depending on delivery location PLEASE call for updates.

            Korea booked 10.1 myn bu of corn for June. Very interesting to see large bookings into the deferreds this early. Futures are having a BIG day in fairly light trade. Corn is up 8-10, beans are up 35, wheats are up 10-15! Russia sold 16.5 myn bu of wheat into the domestic markets to ‘cool’ prices and fight inflation. Egypt’s GASC and India both cancelled their tenders saying prices were too high. Well if they were too high before, they sure won’t like the direction that they are headed. There seems to plenty of SWW interest STILL.

            The UN released a report saying that up to 40 countries will be facing food shortages as prices climb. Food prices across the board are up nearly 25% in most countries. One of the major drivers is the growth/ demand in China/ India. For example in 1985 average meat consumption in China was 20kg, today it is over 50kg. It takes a lot of grain to produce that meat! According to the FAO, the amount of corn used for biofuel production in the US will double to 110 million tonnes by 2016. In Europe, the amount of wheat devoted to biofuel will rise twelvefold to 18 million tonnes by the same date. China is experimenting with different rice varieties in “high salt” soils to try desperately to increase cereal production. Aussie has some of the same problems with ‘high saline’ soils.

Have a VERY Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!!

 Morrow County Grain Growers                             Pendleton Grain Growers

             Duane Disque or John Ripple                                      Jon Sperl

             1-800-452-7396 or 541-989-8221                           1-800-422-7611 or 541-276-7611

              or Dan Steiner 481-6614 (office), 571-3798 (cell)  graingrowers@centurytel.net

                                                            GOOD MORNING!!!

            Below are the best indicated market bids as of:   9:00  on      12/21/07

***NOTE: Corn values vary depending on delivery location PLEASE call for updates.

            Not much news this morning. Markets will trade ‘reduced’ hours today. When we get into the holidays, many traders are gone, and trade is USUALLY quite a bit lighter, but in the past we have seen some HUMONGOUS swings over the holidays. This morning beans have been up .20 corn up 10, both are now back off of those numbers. Wheats have traded sharply lower, but are working toward neutral ground.

            Over night SK booked 15 myn bu of US corn. This corn market just feels like it has legs. With cattle/ dairy/ meat product prices lagging, you have to wonder how much higher corn can go. I guess the cattle/ dairy/ meat producers could ask the ethanol guys, but in this arrangement the cattle/ poultry guy is the only one with out some sort of ‘safety net’.

            Government is back to looking at whether long term CRP should be allowed out WITHOUT penalty. With grain prices and acreages what they are this is a topic that won’t die easily. Whatever the gov’t decides the market will sort it out. There are plenty of political angles on this one.

***Odds-n-Ends: “Success is largely a matter of hanging on after others have let go”  William Feather.  There has never actually been a documented case of an ostrich actually burying his head in the sand, or actually attempted to do so…Experts claim that as long as it isn’t over 60°, an average human being can make it 11 days without water.  Slow down and enjoy the holidays: In the last 10 years 37% of the highway fatalities on Christmas and New years were speed related. The average speeding ticket is about $150, average increase in insurance over 3 years can be another $300, making that 1 ticket worth more than $450! More than 60 myn people will drive an average of more than 50 miles to visit family…50% of fatalities on New Years, and 64% on Super Bowl Sunday are due to alcohol. By the way, the average high temperature in Hawaii in the winter time is 80°.

Have a VERY Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!!

 Morrow County Grain Growers                             Pendleton Grain Growers

             Duane Disque or John Ripple                                      Jon Sperl

             1-800-452-7396 or 541-989-8221                           1-800-422-7611 or 541-276-7611

              or Dan Steiner 481-6614 (office), 571-3798 (cell)  graingrowers@centurytel.net

                                                            GOOD MORNING!!!

            Below are the best indicated market bids as of:   9:00  on      12/20/07

***NOTE: Corn values vary depending on delivery location PLEASE call for updates.

            Very good article in USA Today about grain prices. There have been too many talking heads point to Ethanol as the reason for higher wheat prices and disregard basic S&D’s and world weather. World grain stocks are already the tighest in the last 30 years, by the time we get to new crop stocks will be the tightest in 60 years, but adjusting for inflation, prices still are not at record levels. US consumers spend about 10% of income on food vs. 40% on transportation. USDA expects ‘home cooking’ costs to go up 4.5% plus another 3% next year. Energy is expected to rise 17%, crude up 10.7%. Gas to $3.50 in ’08?

            Sec of AG says that if the Farm Bill that comes from Congress looks anything like the Senate or House version, it will likely be vetoed. There are 3 main sticking points: 1) The Senate version has $15 byn in loopholes and $22 in “budget gimmicks”. The House version version is much lighter but still has $7 byn in loopholes and $5 byn in gimmicks. White House wants those done away with. 2). Whitehouse wants to cap subsidies at $200m. They say it will effect about 30,000 growers and save about $1.5 byn. The big one is: 3) Loan issues, which are non compliant with WTO. The White House would like to do away with the loan program and increase Direct Payments by $5.2 byn, since Direct Payments are ‘green box’ and WTO compliant…so the Farm Bill isn’t done yet, but everyone has an interest in seeing it finished before Jan.

            China will abolish export rebates on 84 different types of grains/ grain products (including finished products) in an effort to reduce exports/ increase local supplies. Russia is still expected to sharply curtail exports in February. Overnight Japan booked 2.5 myn bu of WWW, and they have been very active ESPECIALLY in the deferred months of April/ May. They will be booking for June. The writing is on the wall, and they don’t want to take a chance and NOT have wheat available for their population.

***Didja Know: Even though the US, Great Britain and Russia formally ended WWII at the Yalta Conference in 1945, the US didn’t get around to saying it was over officially till 1951…Korean war never did end, we have a ‘truce’ in place. Electric Christmas lights made their debut in 1895, and were much safer than candles on the pine trees!!! Milk delivered to the store today was probably in the cow less than 2 days ago…The world’s chicken population is roughly equal to the human population. A top fuel dragster can hit 330mph in a quarter mile that only takes 4.5 seconds, but will use 10 gallons of Nitro…

Have a VERY Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!!

 Morrow County Grain Growers                             Pendleton Grain Growers

             Duane Disque or John Ripple                                      Jon Sperl

             1-800-452-7396 or 541-989-8221                           1-800-422-7611 or 541-276-7611

              or Dan Steiner 481-6614 (office), 571-3798 (cell)  graingrowers@centurytel.net

                                                            GOOD MORNING!!!

            Below are the best indicated market bids as of:   9:00  on      12/17/07

***NOTE: Corn values vary depending on delivery location PLEASE call for updates.

            Chinese Ag minister says that they expect China will exceed around 500 myn mt of cereal grains this year, but will fall behind once again. They are struggling to try to maintain/ stabilize grain production. They have lost an estimated 830,000 hectares (2+ myn acres) since the 1990’s to urban growth/ desertification. Current population estimate is 1.3 byn. They have about 20% of the world’s population on about 7% of the worlds arable land. South Korea passed last night on “Non GMO” corn tender on account of price. Paki is expected to tender again, as is India. India did not receive many offers on the tender, but will come back again tendering for 10.5 myn bu. India is expecting a slightly larger harvest (75 myn mt, vs. 74.8 myn mt in 2007) but will still need to import probably about 5 myn mt again in ’08. Japan is also going to tender for 10.5 myn bu of US/ Canadian wheat.

            Recently passed energy bill ought to prop up the ethanol industry and also encourage more R&D especially in cellulosic ethanol. Next few years will be important as infrastructure will need to be built to get ethanol from point of production to point of use. Now that at least “a form” of the Farm Bill has been passed, they need to get the Senate and House together to come up with something that will either get a Presidential ‘ok’, or get enough votes to override a veto. Meanwhile, since the recently adopted bill does NOTHING to address WTO concerns, Canada and Brazil have re-opened their case against the US and illegal subsidies. Expect others to join in (EU, Aussie, Argie?).

            I will be to an early morning marketing meeting at Morrow County Grain Growers in Lexington. Please call for price updates….

Fun Trivia:  What are the next two letters in the following series?  A E F H I K L M …

The next two letters are N and T.  These are the next two letters in the alphabet composed only of straight lines.

***All bids are subject to change, please call for CONFIRMATION of prices. All information in this letter is from sources deemed reliable, and is for informational purposes only**

 Morrow County Grain Growers                             Pendleton Grain Growers

             Duane Disque or John Ripple                                      Jon Sperl

             1-800-452-7396 or 541-989-8221                           1-800-422-7611 or 541-276-7611

              or Dan Steiner 481-6614 (office), 571-3798 (cell)  graingrowers@centurytel.net

                                                            GOOD MORNING!!!

            Below are the best indicated market bids as of:   9:00  on      12/17/07

***NOTE: Corn values vary depending on delivery location PLEASE call for updates.

            Though the futures were viewed as ‘overbought’ last week, the early call was for much stronger open. Nearby Chicago is a bit higher, everything else is weaker on profit taking. The inspection report showed strong, solid numbers in corn and wheat of 46.5 myn bu and 19.4 for wheat, beans on the other hand were incredible with 35.6 myn bu shipped. Farm Bill finally passed the Senate, with numerous amendments. One of those amendments would grant the CFTC oversight on the mostly ‘unregulated’ electronic energy trading. The Senate also approved an increased RFS (renewable fuel standard)…36 byn gallons by 2022. Bill calls for 9 byn gallons by 2008 (we are already there). And 15.2 byn gallons by 2012. With the Ethanol plants currently running, and if those under construction/ expansion (to be complete by end of 2008), it is estimated that we have about 13.5-14 byn gallon capacity right now.

            Market is still talking about running out of wheat, and I read the first mention of grain embargo in an article this morning, although it is still highly unlikely at this time…but it was mentioned. India only received 12 myn bu worth of offers on their tender. There is talk that perhaps the frost in Argie was colder/ longer and did more damage than originally thought, if it is so, we will find out shortly. Also rain has finally arrived in Aussie in time to slow harvest (see maps).

            Informa economics released a report last week estimating that corn acres planted will be down about 6%, but farmers will still plant 87.4 myn acres. Some quick figuring: that implies about a 12 byn bu crop (150 bpa average). With this years ESTIMATED carryout of 1.8 byn bu gives us 13.8 byn bu. Total usage should be about 12.8 byn bu…leaving us with 1byn bu carryout…pretty tight considering the amount of usage, and there are A LOT of things that must go right for that to happen. They also released some estimated plantings for wheat, but there may be a typo or something on the report. The report said acres are up to 64.5 myn acres, which is only up about 4 myn acres from this year…that isn’t anywhere CLOSE to the USDA numbers on their S&D’s. USDA is not scheduled to release any more acreage numbers till March 31.

            UK’s chief scientist says GM crops SHOULD be allowed in Britain. He said “The fact that GMO crops have been grown for a very long time in America, and there hasn’t been ANY litigation, in what is a very litigious society indicates that they are very safe”.

GOOD MORNING!!!

            Below are the best indicated market bids as of:   9:00  on      12/14/07

***NOTE: Corn values vary depending on delivery location PLEASE call for updates.<