Bank of America Merrill Lynch Discusses Crops

Bank of America Merrill Lynch is out with a research report on corn planting. One name to consider in this sector is CF Industries CF. In a note to clients, Bank of America Merrill Lynch writes, "Both the planting pace and pace of development for seeded acres remain behind long-term averages. For the week ended June 12, 99% of the US corn crop has been planted, while emergence reached 91% vs 79% one week ago and a five year average of 96%. Ohio's emergence significantly lags at 57%, while Pennsylvania, North Dakota, Michigan, and Indiana each rate between 68%-81% emerged. These percentages reflect the 1.5 million acre reduction in forecasted plantings from 92.2 mn acres to 90.7 mn acres in the USDA's June 9 WASDE report. This compares with 88.2 mn acres planted in 2010. Row-crop acreage will be further refined based upon survey data in the agency's June 30 Acreage report. We judge corn plantings could fall a further 0.5-1.0 mn acres below the current forecast, versus private forecasts as low as ~88 million acres." Shares of CF lost $2.42 yesterday to close at $150.14, a loss of 1.59%.