$6.00 support in Dec '08 Corn?

CORN
Well the market decided to take another shot at the $6.00 mark in Dec '08 corn. It has been a projection area for a while and so far it has held. Soybeans weakened going into the close today but corn managed to have mostly steady activity for the last 5 minutes of trade.

I can make an argument that if the market makes new lows tonight or tomorrow and then comes back up through $6.03 1/4 that it would be a buy signal. It wouldn't be a text book signal but none the less it would give a signal. FYI, 2007 Dec corn bottomed on July 23rd last year.

I believe it is still wise to have upside protection in place to cover feed needs as we move forward.

HOGS
Cutout today took a step back in the right direction moving higher by $.74 and cash prices slightly higher as well. Packer margin is still around $5.00/hd and there are no standout signs of cash dropping back just yet. U.S. dollar is still weak and will continue to provide positive influence to the export market. FYI, 2007 October lean hog futures topped out on August 4th last year and we all know what happened after that, a seemingly never ending price decline. The deferred contracts in the summer months of 2009 were down hard earlier in the session today in relationship with declining corn market, however they did make a recovery into the close.

         Total                   Today's Primal Cutout Values
Date     Loads      Carcass    Loin    Butt   Pic     Rib   Ham  Belly
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07/21        33.3      83.85  100.07   85.09  66.14  98.09 87.34  84.53
Change :                0.74   -0.87    0.04   2.43   0.29  2.70    unc

National Direct Hog Price Comparison

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           :  National   :    Iowa     :   Western   :   Eastern
           :             :  Minnesota  :  Cornbelt   :  Cornbelt
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Base Price is the price from which no discounts are subtracted and
no premiums are added.
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BARROWS & GILTS :  1.23 hgr   :   .38 hgr   :   .55 hgr   :  2.09 hgr
Negotiated      :             :             :             :
CARCASS BASIS   : 68.00-81.25 : 69.00-81.25 : 68.00-81.25 : 71.50-80.00
185 lb Base Hog :   wtd avg   :   wtd avg   :   wtd avg   :   wtd avg
Plant Delivered :    77.77    :    78.62    :    78.66    :    75.87
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Head Count      :   25,288    :   13,558    :   17,199    :    8,067

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