today on u-s farm report... a government today on "u.s. farm repo", a government effort to encourage new sources for biofuels gives farmers another potential market. meanwhile, grain producers sharpen their pencils to analyzthe acre program. and biodiesel supporters work to get truckers to sample the new fuel. >> "u.s. farm report" brought to you by chevy, an american revolution. and welcome to good morning. welcome to "u.s. farm report". i'm john phipps. more so than any year i can remember, more legislative action is occurring at every level of government that will impact farmers and rural

america. while most eyes are on washington, and rightly so as efforts on health care, economic recovery and climate change are fast and furious, there are also huge changes coming from state and local governments. thanks to the recession, the changes are not going to be pleasant either. an ag state researcher outlined how budget cuts will decrease personnel and be even worse next year. unfortunately, iowa is in relatively good shape compared to states like california and illinois levels get started with the news and al pell. >> thanks, john. good morning, everybody. for generations, corncobs in stover simply blew out of the combine to get pild tild into the soil. now the federal government may pay you to collect it for renewable energy. biomass like corncobs is part of the next wave of biofuel production. some companies are already using plant material other than

grain to make ethanol. this week, the ag department announced the biass crop assistant pro -- assistance program called b-cap. they say conversion facilities can now register for the program which includes biomass waste from farms and forestry. producers get -- what producers get paid will be matched dollar for dollar up to $45 a ton. for detaild tails on b-cap, contact your local fssa office. meanwhile, signup deadline is drawing near for another usda program. you probably heard about the average crop revenue election or a. c. r. e. according to our, about 400 producers nationwide have signed up for a. c. r. e. which compares to 1.3 million contracts with the familiar dcp. noted ag economist from purdue university says if you have not signed up for the program, you might get it -- give it a second look. he says if corn dropped to $3 a

bushel, a grower could see a payment under acre about 50 cents a bushel. under the direct counter cyclical program, it would onlyprotect farm fierce it dropped under $2.35 a. scouts on the wheat quality council spring wheat tour found above average yields yields in week. it covered much of north dakota and neighboring states. the group says the spring bheeld wheat yield average this year is about 46.2 bushels an acre up 8 1/2 bushels from last year. the big concern is getting a late maturing crop to finish line. national biodiesel board is trying to make it easeiier for the nation's over the road truckers to fill up with renewable fuel often made with soybeans. this week, they got a 50 cent a gallon discount at the truck stop near romeo, illinois. that location is the latest location to join a network of truck stops on the biotrucker

program. >> it's a web site that the national biodiesel board has created to outreach and educate truckers about biodiesel. the main component is the map where truckers can click on the state, find biodiesel, plan their route around buying biodiesel. >> bellsays the biotrucker fuel card allows truckers and fleets to pay cash price on all fuel with no transaction fee at participating truck stops. according to the national biodiesel board, that would be a savings as much as five cents a gallon. that's for headlines now. back to john for crop watch. thanks, al n this morning's crop comments, we head to southeast minnesota a grower near man kato says if they don't get rain soon, there will be disappointing yields. now to bradford county, pennsylvania, in the northeast part of the state.

he says it's unusually cool and getting dry. showers come and go, but they don't seem to amount to much. we got some stunning photos from levin cook showing hail dafnlg in northeast iowa last week. she and her husband farm 300 acres. they lost 60-70% from a nasty hail and wind storm. i spoke to iowa soybean growers the day after that storm. while i've seen some hail damage in my day, this storm had a s.w.a.t. and severity ofastonishing proportions. still to come, our marketing round table. this week's guests are jim bower of bower trading and mark from stewart peterson. we'll be right back.

"u.s. farm report" guests this week on our round table jim bower from bower trading. jim, i'd like to begin with you. what happened thursday and

friday to soybeans? they really went up. so, are we really that short on beans? >> al, normally the month of july is kind of the key price month for grains here in the united states and the northern hemisphere. it looks to me like august is going to be the real critical month. this past week we saw the leadership of soybeans become quite evident. the chinese have been underneath this market on every mange major break. technically, that market had somewhat of a breakout this week t looks to me like soybeans going into the month of august are going to be the price discovery leader and i'm expecting a lot of volatility. >> you're telling me that we really don't have enough beents beans almost to get -- until our new harvest comes in. is that true? are we that short do you think? either one of you. >> i would think look at the usda numbers, eastbound though -- even know china just bought new crop essentially, they bought a little bit of old crop, we're definitely tight. there's no doubt about it.

>> explains why the price went up, right? >> absolutely. other thing you have to look at is china tried to sell twice this past week or the past 10 days out of their own reserves at this point. both failed. claimed the price was too high. they bought those beans way back at a time when they were at a higher price. at this point, the importers from china are looking at cheaper will wl it's brazil or u.s. products tip at this time to bring into the country. >> i want to stay on this price movement a little bit because corn also had actually went down and the government had said we haall these acres and corn recently had a good yield. now the government has gone back and see whether or not we have that acre. where are we on corn? al, i think the situation in corn will have some obviously bearing to the overall grain complex out ahead, but corn, everybody seems to feel the crop is made. if you ask the people up in southwest minnesota, northwest iowa, that's not for sure yet

and certainly here in the eastern corn belt, we really are way, way behind on growing degree days. i really think we'll have to get to the first of october before most of the eastern corn belt crop is going to be free from frost risk. the other situation with the value of the dollar around 78, you can see that world buyer looking at the 22% below par is recognizing that corn at this lower level based in theircurrency is probably a pretty good buy. we're seeing significant uptick in the export marketing corn. whether that's a bottom or not, i don't know. again, july is norman minetaly the key, critical month for price discovery for grain. i don't think so. think august will be the key driver. >> i talked to our panel. they said it looked like the prices might go up a little bit in august. maybe we've reached our lows. what do you think about this? >> think when you look at from a technical perspective when you look at soybeans and corn, reach downside objectives or initial downside objectives and we're bouncing off of that.

some might look at them as abc corrections, et cetera. it looks like the right time for that. seasonal indicates a very moderate trend for the last few weeks in july, mailg maybe last couple weeks in august you can see a quarter bean bounce. generally that's what you see. after that you may drift off especially if the crop looks like it's made which jim points out it looks to be the case in corn in some areas right now. i think you still have to beware of the corn in the downside in corn at this point in time. beans will probably be the price leader with volatility. who knows where it's going to go. >> i think the other situation is let's be real insightful here. in the last seven months where -- july, when it was really, really cold, only in one of those years did we actually have early frost. the problem with this market this year is we're still an

logging 1965. from an anna log year. that was a year of sunspot minimum the year before. we transitioned from la nina to el nino and we had cold temperatures at night. in 1965, we had a major frost i believe it was on september 24, 25 and 26 in western wisconsin, minnesota, north dakota, south dakota, the western half of iowa and all of nebrka. those arareas this year here in the united states where we're probably going to have the potential for a better yield in corn, but even there too bawfs these cold nights and this analog is so exact, think think we have to be careful we're too confident it's in the bin yet. >> we can't be too confident. if we would get that freeze, it would hurt the soybean crop no question about that. >> absolutely devastating to the soybean crop. >> let's save a little bit this have time and do it in the next one. ill i have real questions i want to ask you when we come up with more "u.s. farm report" in just a moment.

"u.s. farm report" guests this week jim bower and mike hogan. i think what i'd like to do is spend time this week what do farmers need to do. mike, i'm going to ask you first. do you have a one, two, three thing farmers have to have in their mind to take advantage if these prices go up or lessen their disadvantage if they go down on corn, beans or whatever the trade is? >> sure. absolutely, what works in either scenario and that's really the baseline of what you want to strategize about. on corn, we're certainly below most break even costs for farmers. certainly at one of the lower points in the year even with the rally the last couple days. something you probably want to take advantage of. i would step out into pep paper. i would look at option positions something that doesn't get in the way of a further topside move at this point yet at the same time you

want to look at something if the marketcontinues, this is just it. you still have something that's booked and isn't losing value as rapidly paced. there are some fairly bearish downside targets out there if this corn crop hits on all cylinders at this point. on beans, certainly the cash sales are open at this point. something i think a lot of farmers might want to look at is buying multiple puts under the market that are out of the money. beans are in a trading range over the long haul at the top of the range. you can try to make cash sales at that point. otherwise, look at buying two, three, four out of the money options spending 50, 60 cents. that's going to give you pyramiding downside risk in the market would start to move lower. one thing whether you're trying to get to the top or bottom of the market, if thbean market breaks out to the down side, there's very little -- there's a lost air under the market as we talked about before. china is doing a lot buying. they're one of the only positive things going for the beans other than some sort of supply disaster. that will be the key.

you want something that has a good, powerful position yet doesn't get on the topside eye guess my goal so keep the farmer in business, he needs to know his cost of production and what he has to be in it. i know markers have other ways of achieving these goals. >> first thing think about this market going into august is that everybody needs to keep an open mind. i've been trading many, many years that. soybean market just when you think you have it figured out, it will flip around on you. personally, i know the word personally, i think soybeans are explosive if we hit any kind of bad weather in august and particularly if we hit an early frost in the eastern corn belt. as late as this crop is and and as demand pull oriented is, i think you would see a sheer panic in the soy complex. that's why i don't want to be short in the cash market or the futures market at the present time in the soybean market if i

did, i absolutely would be covered with a call option to the up side and i would be very, very aware that this market is very unusual, it's something we haven't seen in a long time where it's been so cold over such a large area and even with corn -- >> that's what i was going to ask you. >> corn is further along. it seems like it's developed pretty good so far as mike said. certainly f-this situation in soybeans would actually happen, again, i can't predict that. >> nobody can. >> all i can say i can say with a lot of validity though, 1965 is very -- has a very close relationship from an analogy standpoint with this year. i remember '65 and that northern and western corn belt got hit pretty hard. as late as this crop this year, it would be a big, big problem. keep an open mind. i do not want to be short cash or futures in soybeans. if i am for whatever reason, i

would recover the call and go to the bin with the corn. >> how about our competitors. we've only only got a minute. are they going to pickup and give us competition or is the u.s. still in the grain market? >> i think the u.s. is still the head honcho in the grain market. we mentioned before. we talked about brick countries, brazil, india, china. they're pulling on the demand side of things. brazil and russia are trying to push forward on the supply side. again, i think the u.s. is still relatively unchallenged. we've seen brazil pickup on the beans to make u.s. and brazil even up. by corn, u.s. is far and -- >> do you have a dollar if i go ?iewr. >> absolutely. we recognize when the dollar made its top, commodities made its bottom. when the commodities make the top, -- china still the price driver still continues to stockpile. i look at it instead of being the four bricks, i look at the brax, brazil, russia,

australia, canada, china, commodity countries. that's where the emerging marketing -- markets are foe cushion. that's where the world investors is -- investor is going. >> thank you trevan vr -- thank you very much for being here. we'll be back with more "u.s. farm report" in a moment. trying to locate new or used equipment? my machinery.com has the largest listing of classifieds anywhere on the web. whatever you're searching for, you can find it on my machinery.com.

welcome back to "u.s. farm report". we'll start you off with a look at the latest drought monitor. there's a couple of areas to note. we continue to see extremely dry conditions in southern texas. we've added a little bit of dryness here in parts of oklahoma. at the same time, we've actually seen some rain there over the past several days, so that may actually start to weaken again as we get into the next week or so.

we really could use the rain down in southern texas. that where we haven't seen too much rain. continue with dry conditions in part of the upper midwest and out in the west as well. let's take a look at the maps. what can we expect for the week ahead? well, kind of status quo for a lot of folks here in the great lakes region. we continue to see an upper level low. a trough in the jet stream. what we will see is relief for folks out in the west. that ridge is finally going to translate to the east. you'll see some relief from the hitt heat up in the pacific northwest. we'll keep it on the hot side especially right here in the south central united states. temperatures just a touch warmer as we head through the week ahead in much of the great lakes region. as we take a look at what we caexpect for precipitation, now we do have a front that's expected to move through parts of the central and eastern corn belt t won't have a whole lot of moisture with it. some folks may get missed about some of the rain here. stationary front over the southeast. scattered showers and thunderstorms as we head into the afternoon. as we head over to wednesday, kind of the same thing

especially on the western end of that. moisture will be a little on the spotty side. chances for showers and thunderstorms basically along the eastern seaboard. we'll keep it hot in parts of the southern plains and into the west. finally see a little bit of relief from the heat into the northwest, but we're going to still keep chance for showers and thunderstorms especially in the southeast and more spotty along that front as we get into the plains and intermountain west. stay tuned. we'll have more weather coming up a little later on in the show.

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larges one of the large effortproblems facing all of us these days is a diminishing sense what have we think normal is. for example, as grain producers try to analyze the new anchor program, we have to predict what price and yields will be like for the next five years. only our guess on both have been getting worse it seems.

top producer editor linda smith calculated the wild overshootadvisors predicted for grain prices last year. weather extreme in my part of the country have exceed my experience and we don't have to mention our cold july. add in economic recession and changes in our local and national economies. while we are seeing hopeful signs of recovery, it is also becoming obvious the other side of this valley won't look like where we came from. as a result, i think all of us are feeling some sense of loss over our ideas of what normal looks like. at the same time, the inability to have confidence in our predictions adds to our stress load. one thing that might help is to glance back. we're still the same people who cope with enormous challenges and uncertainty throughout our history. studying our past might make our future a little less threatening. as always, we want to hear from you. send comments to

info@usfarmreport.com or leave us as a voice mail by calling 800-792-4329. coming up in our next half hour, 4h members explore in the dark. stay with us. our second half of "u.s. farm report" is coming up. "u.s. farm report" is produced and distributed today on u-s farm report... after a false today on "u.s. farm report", after a false start, new food safety regulations passed the house. blueberry growers combat disease problems in our top producing state. some 4hers go cave

exploring. >> "u.s. farm report" brought to you by chevy, an american revolution. u-s farm good morning. welcome to "u.s. farm report". i'm john phipps. remember all those stories about contaminated spinach and beef products. government reaction to such food safety problems is now unfolding. food safety has become enmeshed with animal welfare and environmental concerns to produce a new emphasis on food in jerngeneral. some farmers in particular have been discon severitied to see how they've answered these concerns. they shouldn't be. a large majority of the budget is dedicated to fee food programs. make the true constituents of our favorite department are not farmers but consumers. time now for the news with al pell.

>> thank you, john. good morning, everybody. it took two attempts, but the house of representatives passed a food safety reform bill. the food safety and enhancement act was in response to food bourn illnesses that gives new authority to the fda and sets higher standards on imported foodment on wednesday, the house attempted to pass the measure under a procedure called suspension calendar which limited debate t fell short. on thursday, lawmakers pass it had on a bipartisan vote. the measure now heads to the senate. in the nation's top blueberry growing state nawrks plant disease could spell trouble for producers. it has been identified and efforts ever under way to stop the spread. michigan tops the nation b half the nation's commercial production. for the first times, two plant diseases, blueberry shock and scorch have been found in the state. they say the viral diseases can cause significant losses to blueberry producers but not a

threat to people. >> it spreads slowly. it doesn't -- it does no harm to the fruit. it's a virus that people have concern with consuming the berry, they don't have to be concerned about that -- consumed about that. it will attack the bush. fortunately, they've identified it at the early stages and they're work on it to stop and it to cure it. >> the diseases were confirmed in the southwest region of the state which is michigan's blueberry belt. michigan department of ag says the infected bushes have been pulled and destroyed. according to the michigan state university, the state proo peruses 110 million pounds annually. american farmers are getting served big weather challenges. in the corn belt unusually warm temperatures have slowed the development of the crops. sadat says it's 0 points behind the normal stage. in northern indiana, they say it's been the coldest july on

record in that area n texas, record high heat and drought conditions are hurting most crops and livestock, but texas agri-life extension says most prix peanut growers are reporting good crops. planted acreage on peanuts is down 40% from last year. the american wind energy association says it seeps troubling trefnltdz overy'all, they installed 1,200 megawatts in 10 states in the second quarter. the trade association says that's a solid number, but the number of orders for new wind turbines went down. the group has been pushing congress for a national renewable energy standard that says without an r. e. s., many wind manufacturing jobs will go overseas. the top three states are texas, iowa and california. those are the headlines for now. let's get the forecast from the meteorologist cindi clawson.

thanks, al. as we head through our monday forecast, we'll still see slightly cool temperatures in much of the north central united states and into the great lakes with still a dip in a jet stream there. we're still looking at pretty warm conditions in much of the west. we'll see chance for some showers and thunderstorms though we're not look at a whole lot of moisture with the front moving through parts of the central and eastern corn belt. scattered showers and thunderstorms possible into the southeastern united states. ways get into wednesday, that ridge will start translating to the east and that will mean some more warm weather starting to come into the nation's midsection and we'll start at least to see it just a little bit of relief into parts of the pacific northwest. basically the same thing. showers and thunderstorms possible mainly along the eastern seaboard and a front will trail back into parts of the plains. things will be a little more spotty there. as we head into friday, we'll be looking at kind of the same thing here. we'll see cooler temperatures in the northeast. ridge kind of translates a touch further to the east a little relief in the northwest. chances for showers and

thunderstorms especially here in the southeast. what about as we get into next week? well, unfortunately we're continuing the below normal temperatures for much of the great lakes and vowp surrounding regions. we'll keep tonight warm side in the southern plain wea.s get into the four corners region, colorado expecting to be a little on the warm side. perhaps a little cool for some folks along the pacific coast. as far as precipitation, maybe on the wet side from the northeast down into parts of the central and eastern corn belt going to keep it dry for some of those folks that could really use rain. southern texas on into the southwest. another area that could really use rain is in the upper midwest as well. wisconsin, minnesota still seeing drought conditions. as we look a little further into the future, we'll see the cool conditions again. nothing really changes here. we're looking at a pat theron tern that the -- that will be persistent with cooler weather in much of the great lakes and crowng surrounding regions. on the warm side for much of the united states and out in the west. precipitationwise, that might

bring good news in the upper midwest. brains plains could get above normal precipitation. unfortunately, we're still looking at these dry conditions in southern texas. doesn't look like those folks are ever go going to see a break. >> thanks, cindi. well, grab your flashlight and your nerve. next, we'll take you cave exploring. later, we'll help you develop a plan for your retirement. which u-s state

has the most caves? according to a pop quiz. which states has the most caves? according to a group that did the counting, it's tennessee with more than 9,000. 4hers were getting an introduction to cave exploration or spelunking this summer. chuck denney takes us inside. >> reporter: follow me -- o' >> follow me, if you would. >> reporter: fire up your flashlight and watch your step. footing can be a little

treasurous here, but the experience is downright amazing. >> you guys are doing great. isn't this fun? >> reporter: these kids are part of a 4h spe lurching trip in-- spelunking trip inside whirly cave. >> it's slippery and the mud is make it slicker and the rocks, they're hard to get over and stuff. >> reporter: but it's lots of fun. >> yeah. >> reporter: whirly cave is one of the biggest in tennessee. there are no clipy -- creepy critters in here other than a few bats. outside, it's hot and humid. inside, you'll find nature's air imng 58 degrees year-round. it's muddier than normal because of all the recent rain, but the sites are worth the mess -- sights are worth the mess. for the record, stalagmites go up. stalactites go down. >> a lot of these formation are extremely fragile so we don't touch the ones that are still forming. >> reporter: u. t. e-tension ty petty leads these expedition

and teaches 4hers to respect the cave so people can enjoy it for many years to come. >> we have such a good time exploring the cave, seeing thisnatural creation that's just amazing. it's like discovering something new around every corner. you're walk-through a cave and could be see something that people have never seen before. >> reporter: he shows the kids something few people ever experience. the complete and total blackness of the dark. tennessee has 9,300 known caves statewide and probably more waiting tore discovered. that's the most of any state. our landscape, climate and geology seem to be the perfect blend for these places of wonder and mystery to form. a cave is an incredible thing to see, but you should never enter one alone. the 4hers learn about spelunking safety as well as geology and environmental issues and other important life lessons. >> the kids gain teamworkment they're working together helping each other out climbing

over things, through things, making it across water crossings and stepping on stones. >> reporter: the light of day is a welcome sight as the tired spelunkers reach the entrance. it's time to go home and scrape away the layers of mud. these 4hers can now call themselves explorers and they take what they learned underground and bring it to the surface. this is chuck denney reporting. >> here is some other subterranean facts from chuck. at 33 miles long, blue springs cave in white county is the longest in the state. the deepest is bulcade at about a thousand feet n either case, no thank you. up next, we launch a special program to help you plan for the next generation. enter at simpleandtruechallenge.com for the chance to win a one year lease for a versatile tractor. simple, reliable, easy to

maintain.

operator, what as a farm operator, what does the future hold four your business, your family hold stead and your -- homestead and your loved ones? when you're set to retire, who will take over? these are important questions facing america's farmers and ranchers west. hope to give you some answers. farm journal media including our magazines, web sites and tv have made it a mission to help farmers develop an action plan. we call it the legacy project. teaming one certified financial planner and farm journal columnist kevin stafford, we will document the challenges and opportunities families face to develop this en essential plan. we begin with addle family of carroll county, marylandment four generations carrying on the generation of row crop and dairy production. del farms has weathered tough times over the years, but the family is determined to keep the farm running, profitable and sustainable. wes mills has our report.

>> reporter: carroll county, maryland, is a picturesque area with rolling hills and pass pastureland ideal for dairy production. the headquarters to the del family farms, four generations carrying on the tradition of row crop and dairy production not far from the historic town of westminster. olde owned by donna and leonia, along with their sons, del farms has weathered tough times over the year as most of the neighboring dairy operation have been liquidateed. >> we're trying to decide whether to sell down some of the cows and whether price climbs. hopefully it will climb. it's a tough, tough decision with low dairy production and high feed costs to keep surviving as a dairy farmer. >> reporter: part of what keeps them going is a plan that plays to family members strengths. son tommy works with his dad oncrop management.

youngest son douglas works part time on the farm spending most of his working hours as a firefighter. when you add in the grandchildren starting to become involved, the importance of a transition plan becomes clearer. >> well, we've been talking about it for five or six years. roger would like to retire at some point. my boys want to get into it. they're all not boys anymore. they're men. it's time for them to have no only job responsibility but financial responsibility for the operation. we never could quite figure out how to sort it out and get them involved the right way. >> my boint boys aren't here. i don't have the -- my boys aren't here. i don't have the interest as far as passing anything on to my sons as he does. i would just like to someday be able to walk away from it knowing everything is secure and in good hands. >> reporter: enter the farm journal legacy project. for the dels, it means severing

the needs of several generation. >> we expect to be able to transfer the farm to the next generation and try to have a profitable business when we're all done. >> we all enjoy what we're doing. we want to keep farming, but we have to figure out a way to do it profitability and keep it everybody happy through the next jeng shall -- next generation. >> it's hard. it's worth it. we need to do it. we have to be helped along to do it. >> reporter: in a close family setting, succession planning as is the process of daily decision make something not without difficulty or conflict. as the more experienced generation pave the way for their successors, mute cal goals come into focus. >> i'd like to see that we can pass this farm on in a very sustainable way that it can go on as a farm for many years to come and generations beyond us can be as happy doing that as we were. >> reporter: this is wes mills reporting. >> next week, we'll introduce you to another farm family

trying to develop their legacyplan. chet and laurieester along with their son, ryan, farm 3,300 acres. they need to know how to pass it on to their kids and grandkids. we'll take you to their farm next week on "u.s. farm report". you can read more about the legacy project in the current issue of "farm journal" magazine. up next, tractor tale tales and our country church salute. please stay with us.

tractor tales this week's tractor tales comes to us from the lone star state. eugene mathy explains how some livestock helped with the purchase of his john deere model a. >> got a model a john deere 159 1952 model. run a crop with them, lots of crops. >> what kind of crops?

>> cotton, corn. used to farm all this land around here. i'll do a little work on it along. try to keep it look halfway decent. my brother traded some sheep for this tractor, then i bought it off my brother. yeah, he traded down in canton. sheep. had a collar on them. had a quick attach. you just drive in to your cultivator and one bolt goes on each side and holds the ont ethend. pull bolts on the back. power lift. raise it up, you're ready to go to the field. very simple to put on. i do a little work on it along. try to keep it looking halfway decent. >> what do you use it for now is. >> just antique, show. piddle around. >> you jean says the same year,

1952 john deere replaced the letter designated tractors with numerals. first one to appear was the model 60 which replaced the john deere a. today on country church shrewd salute, we are happy to feature the greenland baptist church in beacher city, illinois. they want to invite folks to their 150th anniversary celebration to be held on august 6. jerry freely sent us the information. our second church is celebrating their 20 101st. it was established by finnish immigrants in 1908. bef who sent us the information notes that they are now more diversified with members of swedish, nor week and german ancestry. services were conducted in finish late into the 1970s which is as long as any church we have mentioned here on church salute. this required a finnish pastor to travel from 100 miles away.

bef wanted us to mention their wonderful pastor sandra johnson. we'd like to learn about your home church as well. salutes can be sent to the address on the screen. please, stay with us. the mailbag is next.

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success. time for a weekly look inside the old "u.s. farm report" mailbag. frank e-mailed to ask a basic question is about the futures market. since the beginning, how many years have investors made money? how many years have farmers lost money? good question, frank. more complicated than it might seem at first. it's often pointed out that futures markets are zero sum. for every dollar of profit, there's a dollar of loss for someone else. it's hard to define what making munns money means in each case. frese for example f-a farmer wants to hedge or protect actual production at a certain price, might sell a contract and hold on to the real product. often works that producers will lose money on a futures contract, but make more money selling the cash grain later. in the meantime, the producer is mitigated from price risk and probably made his life a little less stressful. the same scenario works if you're a buyer of commodities

as well. futures markets are just what the name implies a way to deal with prices nut future. buyers and selg sell verse different objectives. when a contract is made, it represents a price both can live with. about all we know for sure the only guys who always make money trading futures are the exchanges themselves. please, let us know what you think. feel free to contact us directly. send i-mays mails to usfarmreport.com or call 800- 792-4329 and leave us a voice mail. for al and cindi, i'm john phipps. thank you for watching "u.s. farm report". be sure to join us next week. we'll be working to do even better.

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