Crop Conditions

Planting is nearly done in this area. Only a few odds and ends left to plant. 1^st cutting alfalfa has begun which is earlier than normal. Most corn has emerged to several inches height. Beans are emerging. Early planted beans have begun leafing out. Few, if any areas of too-wet soil conditions. Warm and dusty was more of the problem but a general rain Sunday night and yesterday gave crops around the area a good drink.

Bean prices staged a mini-rally the 2^nd week of May and remain above $10 per bushel. Beans have traded in an extremely tight price range since harvest, ranging little more than $1.00 from low to high so far. It would not be surprising to see traders decide to take corn and beans on a bit of a price run, but don’t get overly optimistic on the upside.

The land market is basically steady on low volume. April and May are often very quiet months for land transaction activity.