Analysts see corn as price leader, fewer acres

CHICAGO, March 17 - U.S. consultancy AgResource forecast American farmers will plant 83.4 million corn acres this spring, down from 86 million in 2008, the president of the firm told the Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit in Chicago on Tuesday.

Chicago-based AgResource also forecast U.S. soybean seedings at 80.2 million acres, up from from 75.7 million in 2008.

Prospects for a reduction in corn seedings plus the potential for a pick-up in corn usage is leading analysts to project Chicago Board of Trade corn futures to stay strong this season.

"Corn surely gains on soybeans and next year the corn market has to buy acres back from beans ... this year is the year of corn," said AgResource President Dan Basse who forecast CBOT corn to trade in the $3.50 to $5 per bushel range.

Bill Lapp, analyst and president of Advanced Economic Solutions, forecast CBOT corn to hit $5 a bushel by year-end.

Basse expected CBOT soybeans to trade from $7 to $7.50 on the downside and $9.50 to $10 on the upside.

New-crop CBOT December corn CZ9> was at $4.20-1/2 a bushel near midday, rising nearly 15 cents, or 3.5 percent in the past week. (For summit blog: http://blogs.reuters.com/summits/) (For more on the Reuters Food and Agriculture Summit, see ID:nSP463170)