"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.

Much has been written about rare earth metals. They are used in electronics, batteries and specialized magnets. China controls more than 90% of rare earth production and has put a ban on exports of the minerals.

The largest miner of rare earths outside China is Molycorp (MCP), a U.S.-based company. The company mines lanthanide and molydenum. Lanthanides include cerium, lanthanum and yttrium. These exotic elements are used in cell phones, computers, X-ray film and TV glass.

"I suspect that as long as the dollar continues its slide our focus on commodities and resource stocks focusing will prove rewarding," says Jack Adamo.

The editor of Insiders Plus explains, "For our latest buy recommendation we'll revisit an old favorite of ours. Over the years we've held 4 positions in ConocoPhillips (COP) and they've gained an average of about 32% for us.

Here's an interesting story, which speaks volumes about the psychological dynamic of the markets. On Friday the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) will report on end-of-season inventories, often called 'ending stocks.' Traders are getting word the report may show inventories are lower-than-usual. Against that backdrop, as a trader you certainly don't want to take a short position. So what to do? You buy, of course.

Monday's buying drove corn prices to a record high of $7.6025 per bushel, up 24.25 cents, as reported in the Wall Street Journal. Country Hedging, a brokerage firm, said: "Federal forecasters could drop the projection to less than 500 million bushels from last month's 675 million. This is a 15 year low."

• OPEC production fell 411,000 barrels per day to 29,343 million bpd.
• Libya's production fell 343,000 barrels per day, from 1,396,000 bpd.
• Nigeria fell 107,000 barrels per day due to Royal Dutch (RDS) Oil maintenance.

"A looming supply shortage stands to push palladium prices sharply higher over the next couple years, and North American Palladium (PAL) is sitting on one of the world's biggest deposits," notes Nathan Slaughter.

The editor of Street Authority Market Advisor explains, "The company has several promising gold mines under development that could soon produce over 80,000 ounces annually.

"Believe it or not, there are only two mines on the planet that yield palladium first and foremost -- it's a by-product everywhere else. And one of those mines belongs to North American Palladium.

Copper was the darling of commodity traders. The price rallied from about $6,400 per ton to a record $10,190 in the past year, The Financial Times reports. Momentum was strong and it looked like there was no end in sight. But now, prices have dropped off a bit and miners are worried that the rally has hit a brick wall. The main concern is that what drove drove prices skyward -- China's demand -- may be slowing, according to the FT.

One indication of the slowdown is the amount of stocks held in exchange warehouses. At the LME Asia + Shanghai exchange warehouses, copper stocks have increased from below 150,000 to over 325,000 tons. That buildup has worried miners. The companies affected are Freeport MeMoRan (FCX), BHP Billiton (BHP), Xstrada (XSRAF), Anglo American and Brazil's Codelco, according to the Financial Times.

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.

"The urge to merge is growing among global corporations. Near-record cash holdings, improved stock markets and increased regulations (which often drive consolidation) should fuel an increase in deal activity," says dividend expert Chuck Carlson.

Th editor of The DRIP Investor explains, "While I don't recommend stocks simply because they represent attractive takeover stocks, takeover appeal is an added kicker. Three such targets are Cabot Corp. (CBT), Molex (MOLX) and Hess Corp. (HES).

When the CEO of Walmart says that inflation is coming, we best be on the lookout. As head of America's largest retailer, Bill Simon is in a unique place to see inflation traveling all the way through the supply chain.

Walmart's (WMT) advanced computer systems are the some of the largest and most advanced computer systems in the world -- on par with computers the U.S. military uses. Every product and purchase is tracked to get stores resupplied as quickly as possible, usually just in time. As a retailer, Walmart is going to be keeping track of costs and profit margins very closely. Managers all across the company are carefully watching the reports.

"We are seeing history in the making. And what's happening in the Middle East is coinciding with some of the mega trends underlying our investment position," note long-standing resource experts Mary Anne and Pamela Aden.

The editors of The Aden Forecast explain, "Here, we review five trends -- related to inflation, interest rates, the U.S. dollar, bonds, and metals -- that should last for many years.

"Schlumberger Limited (SLB) is the world's leading oil services company, assisting in exploration, production and most other oil services; its operations include being a leader in applying proprietary technologies to extract hard-to-extract oil and gas," says Michael Shulman.

The editor of The Short-Side Trader suggests, "Let's ask ourselves the following question: Over the next year is the there going to be more, less or an equal demand for oil? The answer is clearly more demand.

"Another question: Over the next year is there going to be more, less or an equal supply of oil?