UPDATE 1-St-Gobain in talks to sell reinforcement unit

(Reuters) - "Saint-Gobain announces that discussions regarding the plan
to merge its Reinforcements and Composites activities with the
Reinforcements business of Owens Corning, are now focusing on a
sale project ... rather than on the creation of a jointly-owned
company," Saint-Gobain said in a statement.




No financial terms were disclosed.


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Owens to sell two facilities in Belgium and Norway

(Reuters) - Owens Corning also said it was in "active discussions" with
Saint-Gobain on the potential conversion of the proposed joint
venture into an outright acquisition by Owens Corning of the
French company's Vetrotex business.





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Corn Falls to Eight-Month Low, Soybeans Drop as Midwest Rains Aid Crops

(Bloomberg) -- Corn fell to the lowest in eight
months in Chicago and soybeans dropped from a three-year high as
rain improved conditions for the two biggest U.S. crops.

Some fields from Iowa to Ohio may receive as much as 1 inch
(2.5 centimeters) of rain in the next 72 hours, boosting soil
moisture and cooling temperatures, said John Dee, president of
Global Weather Monitoring in Mohawk, Michigan. A second storm
front may move into the Midwest beginning July 9, bringing
heavier and more widespread rains, Dee said.


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Soybeans May Rise in Chicago as U.S. Farmers Cut Plantings; Corn May Gain

(Bloomberg) -- Soybeans may rise to a three-year
high on the Chicago Board of Trade after U.S. farmers planted
the fewest acres in 12 years. Corn may climb as livestock and
dairy producers snap up the cheapest supplies since April.

Twenty of 25 traders, farm advisers and merchants surveyed
June 29 recommended buying soybeans, and 14 said to buy corn.
Soybeans for November delivery rose 6.1 percent last week to
$8.8175 a bushel, the eighth gain in nine weeks. December corn
tumbled 8.1 percent to $3.5075 a bushel, capping a two-week
decline of 16 percent, the largest such drop since July 1997.


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Corn Falls to 12-Week Low as U.S. Farmers Plant More Than March Forecast

(Bloomberg) -- Corn plunged to a 12-week low in
Chicago after the government said U.S. farmers planted more
acres than forecast in March and the most since 1944.

U.S. farmers, the world's largest corn growers, planted
92.888 million acres this year, 19 percent more than last year,
the Department of Agriculture said. The increase was sparked by
the highest prices in a decade, which made corn as much as $200
an acre more profitable than other crops. Prices have dropped 19
percent in the past four months as planting increased.


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Monsanto quarterly profit jumps

(Reuters) - St. Louis-based Monsanto has been benefiting from increased farmer interest in planting corn this spring. Corn demand has surged amid a rally in corn prices and strong demand from the ethanol, food and livestock feed sectors.




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Corn, Soybeans Rise as Lack of Rain in Midwest Threatens to Dry Out Fields

(Bloomberg) -- Corn rose to a three-month high in
Chicago and soybeans gained for the third time this week on
forecasts for dry, warm weather that will reduce soil moisture
and increase plant stress for the two biggest U.S. crops.

Rain totals the next two weeks will be less than half of
normal in the eastern Midwest, even as plants' demand for water
increases, said CropCast Agricultural Weather in Rockville,
Maryland. Drought conditions expanded for an eighth straight
week as of June 12, the National Drought Mitigation Center at
the University of Nebraska in Lincoln said.


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Corn Falls, Erasing Gains, as Rains Boost Early Development of U.S. Crop

(Bloomberg) -- Corn fell in Chicago, erasing earlier
gains, on speculation the second-highest U.S. crop ratings since
1986 will lead to record production and rising global
inventories.

An estimated 78 percent of the U.S. crop was rated good or
excellent as of June 3, unchanged for the third consecutive
week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said yesterday. A year
earlier, 71 percent had the highest ratings.


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Corn Falls as Weekend Rain Boosts Early Growth Prospects for U.S. Crops

(Bloomberg) -- Corn fell in Chicago as weekend rains
in the Midwest eased concern that newly planted crops may be
damaged by dry soil in the U.S., the world's largest producer.

Most fields got at least 0.5 inch (1.3 centimeters) of rain
the past three days, with a few areas receiving as much as 2
inches, said John Dee, president of Global Weather Monitoring in
Mohawk, Michigan. The next chance for 1-inch rains is June 6,
with a second storm forecast beginning June 11, Dee said.


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Corn, Soybeans Rally as Dry Weather Damages Fields in Southwestern U.S.

(Bloomberg) -- Corn rose the most in more than two
weeks in Chicago and soybeans gained after a government report
showed warm, dry weather was increasing drought stress on crops
from Arkansas to North Carolina.

Corn crop ratings fell in 10 of the top 18 producing states
as dry weather stunted early plant development in growing areas
outside of the Midwest, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said.
Dry soils also slowed soybean emergence and increased drought
stress in the southeast. Excessive rains have hurt crops in
Kansas and Missouri.


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Corn, Soybeans Rise as Scant Rains May Threaten Crops East of Mississippi

(Bloomberg) -- Corn and soybean prices rose in
Chicago as dry weather in the eastern Midwest threatened crops
that have received less than 25 percent of normal moisture this
month.

Two storms in the next six days may bring as much as
1.5 inches (3.8 centimeters) of rain to parts of the Great
Plains and western Midwest, Joel Burgio of Meteorlogix LLC said.
East of the Mississippi, less than 0.5 inch is expected, drying
out soils from Illinois to Ohio, he said.


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Corn Rises in Chicago on Lower China Export Forecast; Soybeans, Wheat Gain

(Bloomberg) -- Corn futures in Chicago rose for the
first day in three after China's state-owned grain forecaster
said the world's second-largest producer may cut exports of the
animal feed and boost overseas purchases to meet domestic demand.

China's corn exports may fall 60 percent to 2 million metric
tons in the year through September 2008, while imports may rise
fivefold to 500,000 tons, Wang Xiaohui, a director at China
National Grain and Oils Information Center, said in an interview
in Beijing today. Lower Chinese sales may lead to greater demand
in Asia for supplies from other producers, including the U.S.


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Ethanol fuels largest corn sowing since 1944

(Reuters) - Growers surveyed told the Agriculture Department they will cut back on soybeans in the Midwest and on cotton and rice in the South to sow more corn.

Soybean plantings are projected at 67.140 million acres, the smallest area since 1996, while upland cotton would be the smallest since 1989 at 11.855 million acres. Rice, at 2.64 million acres, would have the smallest seeded area since 1987.


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Corn Farms Replace New York Lofts as Hottest Property

Farmland from Iowa to Argentina is rising faster in price than apartments in Manhattan and London for the first time in 30 years.

Demand for corn used in ethanol increased the value of crop land 16 percent in Indiana and 35 percent in Idaho in 2006, government figures show. The price of a Soho loft appreciated only 12 percent, while a pied-a-terre in Islington near London's financial district gained 11 percent, according to realtors.

Farmland returns will take a quantum leap over the next 18 months,'' after corn prices surged to a 10-year high in February, said Murray Wise, the 58-year-old chairman and chief executive officer of Westchester Group Inc. in Champaign, Illinois, who oversees $460 million of land investments


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