Declines in feed prices crop up

Costs may stabalize, economy says Jeff Ayres • jeff.ayres@jackson.gannett.com • July 8, 2008 The Agriculture Department's not-so-grim crop report was good news for livestock producers grappling with rising feed prices. News of drier weather in the Midwest caused drops in corn and soybean prices, which had set records recently. "The expectation was that the report would be worse than what it actually was," said Steve Turner, head of Mississippi State University's Department of Agricultural Economics. "This market is in a very uncertain place." A bushel of corn for December delivery traded at $7.46 on Monday at the Chicago Board of Trade. It was up to $7.99 in the last week of June. Soybeans for November delivery stood at $15.61 on Monday, the first trading session, after the crop set a new per-bushel record of about $16.36... [read full story]