Fear was alive and well as a force in the market for much of this week, but those concerns appear to be easing on Friday. News of Chinese inflation rallied stock exchanges in much of the world overnight, giving commodities like crude oil a lift. Grain futures extended their gains on follow-through buying, triggered in part by funds covering bearish bets as U.S. farmers hold tight to freshly harvested crops.

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Senior Editor Bryce Knorr first joined Farm Futures Magazine in 1987. In addition to analyzing and writing about the commodity markets, he is a former futures introducing broker and is a registered Commodity Trading Advisor. He conducts Farm Futures exclusive surveys on acreage, production and management issues and is one of the analysts regularly contracted by business wire services before major USDA crop reports. Besides the Morning Call on www.FarmFutures.com he writes weekly reviews for corn, soybeans, and wheat that include selling price targets, charts and seasonal trends. His other weekly reviews on basis, energy, fertilizer and financial markets and feature price forecasts for key crop inputs. A journalist with 38 years of experience, he received the Master Writers Award from the American Agricultural Editors Association. And you can follow Farm Futures throughout the day on Twitter at www.twitter.com/farmfutures.