-5- 



terminal market stocks are being reduced only slightly while farmers 

 have sold heavily. Whenever the price to the farmer approaches 20 

 cents, sales are heavy enough to satisfy the demands. We are now mar- 

 keting the heavy crop of 19^1> and the strength in the corn market 

 in the force of these heavy sales is indicative of a strong under- 

 lying situation. 



Oats have declined in price in recent weeks, a usual seasonal 

 decline. Some new oats have been bought from farmers at around k-0 cents 

 a bushel, X'lrhich is ij cents a pound. Currently the price is below this« 

 This compares with a price of corn of about 1»^ cents a pound at the 



farm. Typically, the price of oats has declined more often than it adr- 



has 

 vanced from May to August, and thenA^egun a rise to December. With oats 



now cheaper than corn, feedings of oats will be heavy. This might 



reduce marketings so that the seasonal advance may come earlier than 



usual. 



Soybeans are in an interesting position. Currently the de- 

 mand for soybean oil is weaker than the demand for meal. The price of 

 oil has declined from the ceiling price of 11 3/^ cents a pound to 11 

 cents, apparently reflecting accumulations of oil. On the other hand, 

 the meal seems to be moving freely at around $3^ ^ ^^^ iri carload lots, 

 in bulk, Decatur basis. The figure is several dollars a ton below the 

 ceiling price on meal, which, of course, varies for different firms. 

 The current price of soybeans reflects these prices. 



The government has guaranteed ^1.60 a bushel on No. 2 beans 

 of high oil content. If meal and oil both sold at their ceilings, the 

 mills could pay somewhat over this price for soybeans and earn unusual 

 margins. This is evidenced by the situation in March when the price of 

 soybeans to farmers was well above the $1.6o "floor price." Thus the 

 present ceilings permit the price of soybeans to be above the government 

 price. But if the prices of oil and meal are enough below these ceiling 



