What a difference a year makes

I'm not expert on the commodities markets, nor am I an agriculture economist, so I don't know what the net outcome will be of this year's rapidly rising wheat prices, but wheat rancher have to be happy about the ongoing rise of grain prices.

The futures market for wheat reached the trading limit of a 30-cent upward price swing in the first 5 minutes of trading today and closed above $8 a bushel for the first time ever (see story here).

That's about twice what wheat was trading at at this time last year. So if we use Idaho's wheat forecast as a guide, that would mean a difference of about $324 per acre if the 81 bushels per acre forecast holds up.

That's just rough cyphering, as my grandfather might say if he were still around. And that's not to say that farmers would see all that money either. But it will be a boost to wheat growers who have been struggling under the yoke of very low prices in recent years.

Given global shortages of grain, it's not looking like wheat has yet hit its peak for the year.