03/21/07 Wheat futures and soft white higher

Market Line March 21, 2007 Old crop soft white wheat prices at Portland are now less than two-bits away from six dollars a bushel though new crop bids are closer to $5. Those cash prices got some help from Tuesday's higher wheat futures. Chicago wheat futures posted the best gains. There was news that Egypt had purchased 60-thousand tons of soft red winter wheat from the U.S. Egypt also purchased Russian wheat. State crop reports showed improvements in Kansas and Oklahoma. USDA meteorologist Brad Rippey has these comments on the winter wheat crop. Rippey: "Winter wheat is actively growing across the south and the southern half of the Plains. Greening up even further north up into the northern Plains and the Northwest. Temperatures have been very mild for March so far. So we are off to a very quick start to the growing season." On Tuesday Chicago May wheat was up 7 ¾ cents at 4-62 ¾. May corn up 7 ¼ at 4-05 ¼. Portland cash soft white wheat six to eight cents higher at mostly 5-77. Club wheat 5-77. August new crop soft white was unchanged to up three cents at 5-03. HRW 11.5 percent protein up seven cents at 5-77. Dark northern spring 14% protein up four cents at 5-92. Barley at the coast 170 dollars a ton. August higher at 155. It was a narrowly mixed close for cattle futures Tuesday. There was spreading action in the live pit. Higher corn and technical factors pressured feeders. April live cattle down 20 cents at 97-60. April feeders down 97 at 105-55. April Class III milk unchanged at 15-62. I'm Bob Hoff and that's Market Line on the Northwest Ag Information Network. Now this.