Here is a Reuters article claiming: U.S. soy, corn fall on weak oil, investors uncertain

Corn and soy prices track with oil, because oil prices impact nearly every aspect of farming, transporting and selling those commodities.  Wall Street gets it, because on Wall Street understanding how the markets work means either making, or losing money.

For ethanol’s opponents at the World Bank and various “environmental” groups, bashing ethanol is done for sport where there are no consequences for being wrong. Well, except that if they are successful, we will lose an industry that offers the only viable alternative to oil.

According to this Reuters story out of the UK, commodity prices are down for wheat, barley, butter and skim milk, but food prices remain high.

The New York Times has an interesting story today about how oil prices are coming down, but that companies who have raised prices on their products in response to oil costs, have not lowered their prices.  The Times also points out that:

The decline in oil prices has also dragged the cost of other commodities sharply lower since early summer. Corn, in particular, has slumped: it settled on Tuesday at $5.69 a bushel, down 29 percent since June 27. Soybean prices are down 21 percent in the same period.

Blaming biofuels for high prices is nonsense. It’s more about corporate greed these days.

EnergyWashington Week (subscription site) is reporting that:

A State Department advisory panel soon will discuss the formation of a food-crisis “brain trust,” which would assemble an unprecedented array of America’s top universities and individual experts as a policy force on agricultural issues, including agricultural-energy and biofuels policies. Informed sources say a draft white paper describing the proposal, under strict orders not to be discussed, may pave the way for a new public-private strategy on “food-versus-fuel” policymaking and direct the course of U.S. biofuels policy in the next administration.

The white paper is scheduled for a Sept. 9 review by the Board for International Food and Agricultural Development (BIFAD), an advisory group to the State Department. Sources say the recommendation could set the stage for much wider discussions in the next administration, including private sector collaboration in addressing biofuel concerns.

The AP is reporting that the USDA has determined that “ideal” weather conditions will help farmers in the Midwest recover from the spring floods.  According to the AP:

That recovery is expected to lead to lower prices for corn, soybeans and wheat. That may provide some relief to meat producers who use corn and soybeans for feed, for makers of corn-based ethanol and maybe even for shoppers at supermarkets.

Commondity prices will come down. But we somehow doubt the food companies will lower their prices.