"Rising demand and constrained supplies are a recipe for higher agricultural prices," notes Elliott Gue.

The contributing editor to Personal Finance explains, "The big winners are commercial farmers and companies whose products enhance crop yields. And one company equipped for growth in this market is Deere & Co. (DE), a new addition to the our model Growth Portfolio.

"For nearly 175 years, Deere has manufactured a wide range agricultural equipment, including tractors, combines, harvesters and sprayers.

Here it is in a nutshell: Prices of grains and cotton have skyrocketed year to date. The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) report released Thursday stated that corn and wheat prices have doubled in the past year. Soybeans were up 50% and cotton was up 155%, as reported in the Wall Street Journal.

What has caused these sharp increases? The key mover has been exports. China, India and countries in the Mideast are stockpiling grains over fears that they will not have enough to feed their people. Corn in storage fell 15% on March 1. Corn has been hit doubly hard because 40% of it is used for ethanol production and a large amount goes for livestock feed.

"Once written off as a 'sunset' industry, North American railroads are making money hand over fist. In short, the railways are benefiting from a rising tide and the companies have a lot going for them," notes Canadian analyst Tom Slee.

The contributing editor with Internet Wealth Builder explains, "Here's a look at my newest recommendation, Canadian Pacific Railway (CP), as well as my long-time favorite, Canadian National Railway (CNI).

"Last year the six major carriers posted a 45% average growth in earnings as they booked increased volumes and increased rates.

This post is part of Japan: A Special Report for Investors.

"Without underestimating the magnitude of the tragedy and human suffering following the earthquake in Japan, we recommend investors buy into Japan amid the current market weakness," says Yiannis Mostrous.

The Asian stock expert and editor of Global Investment Strategist explains, "The tragic earthquake in Japan has roiled markets, but the country's long-term strength remains intact. This is a good time to establish long-term positions in some of Japan's best companies, such as Mitsubishi Corp. (MSBHY).

General Mills (GIS) is buying a 50% stake in Yoplait from PAI Partners for roughly $1.1 billion, Reuters reported Thursday, citing sources close to the deal.

The deal is a nice fit for both companies. Yoplait is second to Danone (DANOY) in the yogurt market. General Mills has the industry presence to promote the Yoplait brand, something that would benefit PAI.

For General Mills, Yoplait would add an another revenue stream to an already diversified conglomerate. Some of General Mills' products include cereals, Haagen-Dazs ice cream, Green Giant vegetables and Progresso soup. The company has already been distributing Yoplait for 30 years, so the distribution network is already in place.

• WTI crude was up $3.67 per barrel to $101.67. Brent crude rose $2.10 per barrel to $110.62.
• In the grain market, June wheat futures rose 48-2 cents per bushel to $7.10 per bushel.
• Corn futures were up the 30 cent limit to $6.46 per bushel.

Trying to get at outsized profits, hedge funds have been getting more aggressive in the commodities markets. Of course, one of the hottest trades has been with agriculture, such as like corn and soybeans. But these markets can move fast and are highly sensitive to planting patterns, weather and changes in global demand.

Well, according to a report on Bloomberg.com, it looks like hedge funds are getting much more cautious on the agriculture sector. For example, there was nearly an 8% drop in wheat prices since February 18.

The cotton market is in a state of chaos. On Friday, March cotton on the ICE exchange closed at $2.1102 per pound, up the 7 cent daily limit, the Financial Times reported. The market opened limit up at $2.1102. That means that you cannot buy cotton even if you wanted to. The market is frozen.

Commodities are much different from stocks. Commodities are a zero sum game. Contracts usually last for three months. At the end of the three months, the longs take delivery from the shorts who deliver their cotton, and zero contracts are left.

March corn futures jumped 24.25 cents a bushel on Wednesday to $6.98. Corn contracts have risen 97% since June. You may be wondering why all this activity in the corn market in the middle of winter. The answer lies in a USDA report that said corn supplies are dangerously low. In fact, they are near the record low set 15 years ago.

What that means is that the corn stocks we have must last until our harvest starts in mid summer. Of the 12.4 billion bushels harvested last fall, we will have only 675 million bushels by Aug 31.To add more fuel to the problem, this new report is 9% lower than the USDA"s January projection, as reported in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).

Tyson Foods (TSN) is on the front line of food inflation. While the Federal Reserve holds that inflation is just 2%, Donnie Smith, CEO of Tyson said that "domestic food inflation will likely overtake U.S. government forecasts as crop and animal feed prices continue to rise," The Wall Street Journal reported.

Last week, Tyson reported a profit of $298 million for the quarter to Jan. 1, compared with $160 million a year ago. Per share earnings rose to 78 cents from 42 cents. Revenue was up 15% to $7.6 billion.

Two mega trends are converging on the grain markets. One has been poor growing weather, and the other is increased demand for food throughout the developing world. The combination of these two factors are driving grain prices higher and higher.

On Wednesday, the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) issued a notice that severe drought in China's main winter wheat region could pose a serious threat to output, as reported in the Wall Street Journal. Some 5.2 million hectares out of the total of about 14 million hectares could be under threat from poor rainfall and low snow cover.

There's a catch-22 in world food supply and demand. The demand for food from developing nations is putting pressure on supplies across the globe. But governments are getting increasingly nervous and worried about unrest. To try and preempt civil disturbances, governments have stepped in and are buying food staples. This government buying is driving prices still higher.

Algeria and Saudi Arabia have announced extraordinary purchases of wheat, driving prices to a two and a half year high. Last week Algeria bought 600,000 tons of wheat, much more than usual. Saudi Arabia announced plans to double the size of its wheat stockpile.

Corn prices are up 92% in the past year. The key driver of the surge in prices is demand from China. According to the U.S. Grains Council, China expects to import 9 million metric tons of corn this year. This is double its previous record of 4.3 million metric tons in 1995.

March corn futures jumped 16 cents to close at $6.785 per bushel, as reported by Bloomberg/Businessweek. This is the highest level since July 17, 2008.

"TAL International (TAL) is one of the worlds largest lessor of containers; its annual dividend of $1.60 provides a current yield of 5.3%," says income specialist Amy Calistri.

The editor of The Daily Paycheck explains, "In today's global economy, roughly 90% of non-bulk cargo is transported by container ships. Interestingly enough, most shipping lines don't own the actual containers; they lease them.

"This wasn't necessarily the type of stock you wanted to be in when the global economy ground to a halt. But as the world's economies and trade improve, this is one company that benefits first.