Grain futures are modestly higher this morning, after avoiding a complete wipeout Tuesday from USDA's August crop report. Smaller than expected corn and soybean production helped those markets move off contract lows, with concerns about hot, dry weather in China and the former Soviet Union sparking some interest today. Wheat is enjoying the best gains overnight on hopes damaging rains in Europe could pave the way for increased exports into North Africa and the Middle East.

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Forecasts for rain over the Corn Belt limit gains but concerns mount overseas.

Bryce Knorr, Senior Market Analyst, Farm Futures, first joined Farm Progress Cos. in 1987. In addition to analyzing and writing about the commodity markets, he is a former future 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 Market Review on FarmFutures.com, he writes weekly reviews for key commodities and crop inputs. A journalist with 38 years of experience, he received the Master Writers Award from the American Agricultural Editors Association.