SOYBEAN GROUPS MEET WITH LYNG TO DISCUSS LOAN

  A high-level meeting last week which
  included the Secretary of Agriculture and other senior  USDA
  officials, along with leaders of the major soybean lobbying
  groups, failed to reach any decision on what should be done
  about the soybean loan level, participants at the meeting told
  Reuters.
      "We didn't feel a lot was accomplished last week, but we
  were delighted to meet with the Secretary, and he didn't close
  the door on anything," a member of the soybean delegation said.
      At issue is the current soybean loan and the fact that at
  the present level of 4.77 dlrs (without Gramm-Rudman
  reductions) it encourages foreign soybean production by making
  soybeans more profitable to grow than corn.
      But while recognizing that soybeans are priced too high in
  relation with corn, soybean groups have pledged their support
  to maintaining current price supports for soybean growers.
      Leaders of the American Soybean Association and the
  National Soybean Processors Association offered specific loan
  options to USDA Secretary Lyng in last week's meeting, but
  participants would not reveal what those options were.
      "There were no surprises in our package," one participant
  said. Bandied about for several weeks has been the idea of
  offering producers soybean loans partially in cash and in
  certificates.
      The most prevailing scheme would be to pay a 4.77 loan with
  77 cts worth of soybean-specific certificates which would not
  have to be paid back and the remaining four dlrs in cash.
      This would have the effect of lowering the world price,
  maintaining domestic support levels and reducing the
  government's soybean inventory.
      A marketing loan for soybeans was not discussed at last
  week's meeting, participants said.
      One member of the soybean delegation said that the meeting
  was a "listening session" for USDA, and that the proposals will
  now be studied further by the Department.
      USDA officials, however, would not commit to any time
  frame. Participants in the meeting do not look for changes in
  the soybean loan to be announced in the near future.
      "USDA is very sensitive about saying anything that could
  influence the market, so the Secretary was very non-committal,"
  a participant said.
  

