[legion]

Originally Posted by jyl

How bad is this going to be for crop yields and commodity prices?

BAD.

Do a search. Corn is at an all-time high. I'd expect wheat and soybeans are there too.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/13/business/13crop.html?ref=business

CHICAGO — Commodity prices continued to rise on Thursday, with the price of corn remaining above $7 a bushel. Soybeans also moved higher.

Wheat, which rose on Wednesday, fell on Thursday.

Corn prices, which have been hitting new highs for a week, are reacting to six weeks of heavy rains and cool weather in the Midwest. That prevented planting in some areas, leading some farmers to abandon the crop in the last few days. It is still raining.

The bad weather comes as supplies of corn, wheat and other staples are already tight thanks to soaring global demand.

The higher commodity prices are likely to add to a worldwide inflationary picture that seems to worsen by the day. Prices of many grocery items in the United States have been rising briskly, with some goods like eggs and milk — produced from animals fed with corn — up by 13 to 30 percent in the past year.

“You know those complaints you’ve been hearing about high food prices? They’ve just begun,” said Jason Ward, an analyst with Northstar Commodity in Minneapolis.