Last year, Archer Daniels Midland (ADM) was included in my stock picks for 2010 and it lost 4.9%. I gave some consideration to keeping it in the mix this year but thought more highly of other stocks in 2011, so I cast it off.

The turning of a calendar page is arbitrary and investments have only modest correlation to it in most instances. However, two weeks into the year ADM is already up, closing Wednesday at $32.56.

Corn prices have been rising and when last I checked futures were up another 1.47% in early morning trading.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) cut its estimates of last fall's corn and soybean crops.The soybean harvest was revised sharply downward to 3.33 billion bushels from 3.38 billion. Corn inventories are already at a 15 year low, were cut by more than 10% to 745 million bushels, as reported in theWall Street Journal.

Let's look at what happened around the world to the grain harvests:

This post is one in a series in which more than 60 newsletter advisors share their Top Stock Picks for 2011. This special report is courtesy of TheStockAdvisors.com.

"One of the easiest ways to participate in the long-term demand for corn, wheat, cotton etc. is with a soft commodity-based exchange traded fund," says Gene Inger.

The editor of The Inger Letter explains, "We recommend the PowerShares DB Agriculture ETF (DBA) as our top pick for 2011.

This post is one in a series in which more than 60 newsletter advisors share their Top Stock Picks for 2011. This special report is courtesy of TheStockAdvisors.com.

"Yongye International (YONG) is a leading developer, manufacturer, and distributor of plant and animal nutrient products in the People's Republic of China," notes Jim Trippon.

The editor of the Global Profits Alert explains, "Its plant nutrient product can significantly increase the plant's output and nutritional value and improve its taste.

This year we've seen sharp price increases in commodities, especially in the weather sensitive agricultural sector. Coffee and sugar are in the spotlight this week.

Processors who buy raw commodities and process them into consumer products are caught is in a price squeeze. On the one hand they must pay more for the raw product and on the other they are up against consumers who are cost conscious.

"Despite more than doubling since we first recommended it just shy of two years ago, Sprott Resources (SCP), a Toronto-listed resource company, remains a strong buy, selling at a discount to a reasonable asset value," says Adrian Day.

The money manager and editor of The Global Analyst explains, "Sprott makes direct and indirect investments in the resource sector, frequently with new businesses which it subsequently takes public after nurturing them.

"One such is Orion Oil & Gas, of which Sprott still owns 78%, and remains undervalued. After more possible acquisitions, Orion could increase in value and more shares be spun off.

In earlier days, the commodities markets were dominated by large trading houses and a small percentage of speculators. The trading houses used the markets to buy and sell their products and hedge their risks.

Now the world of commodities is completely different . Hedge funds, pension funds and mutual funds are a growing force in market participation. This year alone, contracts held by investors rose by 12% through October and are 17% higher than June 2008, as reported by the Wall Street Journal (subscription required).

"Food prices in China have again rising sharply; the average price of 18 staple vegetables rose 62.4% year over year according to the Ministry of Commerce," says global stock specialist Vivian Lewis.

The editor of Global Investing explains, "One way to gain from rising Chinese vegetable prices is Le Gaga Holdings (GAGA). The small cap Chinese veggie producer is a recent IPO.

"Fed by the Kimche crisis in Korea, Chinese shoppers are now paying 10x as much for a head of cabbage (bok choi) as a year ago. Other pricey foods are garlic and ginger, both near double year-ago levels.

The next year may bring higher global grain prices. Several factors are coming together to create supply-demand shortages. Let's first look at the demand side.

Globally, the demand for grains, both feed and consumer products, is increasing rapidly. Developing countries are coming out of the recession and their people are demanding more food products. Food prices are rising across the globe. A Wall Street Journal (subscription required) article states that the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization said its Food Price Index rose 3.7% to 205 -- 44 points in November -- the fifth straight monthly increase. This takes the index to just 8 points below its peak in June 2008.

The Russian drought has caused a spike in wheat prices. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) forecast lower yields for the current corn crop. Worldwide the rising demand for raw agricultural products is creating a need for more production. One way to increase production is to use more fertilizer.

Enter Mosaic (MOS), the world's largest combined producer of phosphate and potash. Mosaic is sitting on a virtual gold mine. It produces about 10 million tons of phosphate and the same for potash. Business is flourishing. Quoted in Investors.com, Chief Financial Officer Larry Stranghoener said: "The supply- demand factors are quite tight in our favor. We're scrambling to produce all we can to meet demand."

There's an old axiom: "Markets trade, then we add the reasons for the price changes." That being said, the next question is: Are the markets being manipulated? And if so, how?

That's rather easy to figure out. The Fed plays with the U.S. dollar and bond contracts. If you look at commodity prices at about 7:00 p.m., you'll see the U.S. dollar futures up, say 50 basis points one day; the next day they are down 40 basis points.

Tuesday was another down day for the stock market, with the Dow losing almost 180 points and the S&P falling nearly 20. Right now, this appears like a much needed and long overdue correction. No need to panic. In fact, if the U.S. economy continues to improve, the next few days could present great buying opportunities in the commodity markets.

This is because the Federal Reserve is determined to make sure that the world is awash in liquidity going forward. The sheer scope and size of these liquidity injections have an awful lot of investors concerned about the long-term stability of fiat currencies, as well as a number of sovereign bond markets. As this uncertainty continues to manifest itself, hard assets may see more substantial price increases.