The Associated Press (Enlarge photo)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Midwest floods may not contribute as much to food inflation as was feared.

Corn prices fell Monday after the government surprised traders, reporting farmers tried to cash in on soaring corn demand for ethanol by planting more acres of the crop than the market expected.

That could be good news for shoppers, although food prices still have to contend with rising costs for distribution and for fuel.

Farmers will harvest nearly 9 percent fewer acres of corn this year than last year, in part because of Midwest flooding that has damaged a portion of the crop, the government reported.

But the latest USDA figures also showed that farmers had planted more than a million additional acres of corn than they had expected to plant in March, which may remove some of the... // The Associated Press

The Associated Press (Enlarge photo)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Midwest floods may not contribute as much to food inflation as was feared.

Corn prices fell Monday after the government surprised traders, reporting farmers tried to cash in on soaring corn demand for ethanol by planting more acres of the crop than the market expected.

That could be good news for shoppers, although food prices still have to contend with rising costs for distribution and for fuel.

Farmers will harvest nearly 9 percent fewer acres of corn this year than last year, in part because of Midwest flooding that has damaged a portion of the crop, the government reported.

But the latest USDA figures also showed that farmers had planted more than a million additional acres of corn than they had expected to plant in March, which may remove some of the... // The Associated Press

The Associated Press (Enlarge photo)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Midwest floods may not contribute as much to food inflation as was feared.

Corn prices fell Monday after the government surprised traders, reporting farmers tried to cash in on soaring corn demand for ethanol by planting more acres of the crop than the market expected.

That could be good news for shoppers, although food prices still have to contend with rising costs for distribution and for fuel.

Farmers will harvest nearly 9 percent fewer acres of corn this year than last year, in part because of Midwest flooding that has damaged a portion of the crop, the government reported.

But the latest USDA figures also showed that farmers had planted more than a million additional acres of corn than they had expected to plant in March, which may remove some of the... // The Associated Press

The Associated Press (Enlarge photo)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Midwest floods may not contribute as much to food inflation as was feared.

Corn prices fell Monday after the government surprised traders, reporting farmers tried to cash in on soaring corn demand for ethanol by planting more acres of the crop than the market expected.

That could be good news for shoppers, although food prices still have to contend with rising costs for distribution and for fuel.

Farmers will harvest nearly 9 percent fewer acres of corn this year than last year, in part because of Midwest flooding that has damaged a portion of the crop, the government reported.

But the latest USDA figures also showed that farmers had planted more than a million additional acres of corn than they had expected to plant in March, which may remove some of the... // The Associated Press

The Associated Press (Enlarge photo)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) Midwest floods may not contribute as much to food inflation as was feared.

Corn prices fell Monday after the government surprised traders, reporting farmers tried to cash in on soaring corn demand for ethanol by planting more acres of the crop than the market expected.

That could be good news for shoppers, although food prices still have to contend with rising costs for distribution and for fuel.

Farmers will harvest nearly 9 percent fewer acres of corn this year than last year, in part because of Midwest flooding that has damaged a portion of the crop, the government reported.

But the latest USDA figures also showed that farmers had planted more than a million additional acres of corn than they had expected to plant in March, which may remove some of the... // The Associated Press