Monday's Updates

China controlling biofuel corn use
In order to safeguard food security, China government officials are taking steps to control biofuel projects that use corn as a feedstock. Corn prices have risen by 15-20% in China over the past month. According to China Daily, the National Development of Reform Commission has suspended the approval of new ethanol projects to control industrial consumption of corn, which is expected to reach 30 million metric tons in the 2006/2007 crop year, up 13.2% from last year. Food and animal feed account for 72% of China's corn output. Reports indicate China is also cutting its direct subsidies to ethanol producers.

NCGA announces corn yield contest winners
Corn yields continue to climb. The National Corn Growers Association 2006 National Corn Yield Contest (NCYC) recently announced winners for its contest, drawing 3,157 entrants from 44 states. While there is no overall winner in the NCYC, yields of farmers who placed first, second and third in their production categories ranged from 240.9675 by Tanner Farms of Union City, Tenn., to 347.2698 from Kip Cullers of Purdy, Mo. Seven winners posted yields of more than 300 bushels per acre. The 27 winners in nine production categories had verified yields of more than 240 bushels per acre, compared to the national average of 151.2 bushels per acre. Find the full list of winners at www.ncga.com.

CBOT launches new ethanol contract clearing services
The Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) has successfully launched clearing services for two new over-the-counter (OTC) Ethanol Calendar Swap contracts with the clearing of 60 contracts in the week ending Dec. 15. The new products, forward and previous month calendar swaps, are based on the price of CBOT Ethanol futures contracts and are the first exchange-cleared OTC products to be specifically tailored for use in the ethanol industry. CBOT Ethanol Calendar Swap OTC transactions take place "off exchange" – away from the Exchange’s trading environment – where they are privately negotiated by counterparties.