This late rally has helped the overall performance of corn, but soybeans and wheat remain weak.

FORBES: 2012 Outlook: Economic Slowdown Could Pinch Demand For Some Commodities

But Brazil has many competitive products, from soybeans to shoes, whose exports should boom.

ECONOMIST: A battle against protectionist instincts

But farmers devoted more cropland to corn and soybeans as prices of those commodities rose, and when the U.S. economy rebounded in 2009, cotton supplies started to pull tight.

FORBES: Cotton's Pinch on Clothing Stores Continues

He used the patented soybeans for his main spring crop, but went to a local grain elevator and purchased so-called commodity seeds for a riskier, late-season crop.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

As noted earlier, the commodity soybeans he purchased were intended not for planting, but for consumption.

FORBES: Connect

Any plant-derived oil qualifies, but most biodiesel in the U.S. comes from soybeans.

FORBES: Ethanol, Meet Biodiesel

For herbicide-tolerant soybeans, herbicide use went down in some states, but up in others.

BBC: News | Sci/Tech | US farmers fear GM crop fallout

Such soybeans are typically used for feed livestock and for milling, but not for replanting.

CNN: STORY HIGHLIGHTS

But the agency also noted that allergic reactions occur about once in 300 times for soybeans, the principal ingredient in many meat substitutes.

FORBES: Food fight

To bring soybeans and other crops, including corn and such, for ethanol are great options for national security, but we also need fuel economy.

NPR: Auto Efficiency: An Executive's View