Despite the current slump in world prices, farmers in Brazil are likely to continue pushing to increase soybean production to meet the continued strong demand from China and other countries in Asia, a Brazil-based market analyst said last week.

"We believe that anything above $10 a bushel on the Chicago market will con­tinue to drive an expansion of soybean production in Brazil," Renato Rasmussen, a Brazil market analyst for Rabo Agrifinance, told farmers at a gathering in Carroll sponsored by the lender. "Farmers there are still at a positive margin on soybeans, and they continue to see a lot of potential to grow."

Even if commodity prices do cycle lower the next few years, Rasmussen doesn’t foresee significant reductions in acreage or a slowdown in the amount of land brought into production. ...