An agricultural economist speaking to members of the nation’s largest general farm organization meeting in San Antonio this weekend said crop prices this year will be driven by demand for biofuels.

Jim Sullivan of Informa Economics in Washington, D.C. told a crop outlook seminar at the American Farm Bureau Federation 90th annual meeting that the global recession will mean weakening demand for corn and soybeans this year, except when it comes to ethanol and biodiesel.

“The only demand increase we can expect to see for corn this year and next year will be corn used for ethanol,” Sullivan said, while biodiesel will be the top demand driver for soybeans. He expects commodity prices for both corn and soybeans to be lower in 2009.