With soybean prices set to rise, experts predict that the number of acres growing corn to drop from 93 to 87 million acres next year, and the soybean acres should climb from 64 to 70 million acres.

"The ethanol market is not going quite as strong as we might have anticipated and we had a very good corn crop this year," said FAPRI researcher Pat Westhoff. "So those two things tend to keep prices at a fairly stable level. In the case of soybeans, we had a much smaller soybean crop than we might have guessed last spring. That makes upward pressure on soybean prices."

Farmers like David Troth say that, with prices above $8 a bushel, it is smart to double-crop wheat and soybeans.

"I'll plant a little more wheat this year as the price is still good," said Troth. "I hope to gain something from that in the spring."

Crops farmers decide to plant in the spring often affect consumers down the line, a fact that Westhoff acknowledges.

"In the case of food," said Westhoff, "I think we've seen already the higher prices at the farm level being passed on towards the rest of the sector."

Westhoff believes that corn and soybean prices ought to remain fairly steady, a prediction that bodes well for Troth.

"This is the highest soybean price I've achieved in probably 12 years," said Troth.

Experts say Missouri's corn and soybean crops should match the national projections next year.