U.S. corn dives on planting outlook; soy follows

By Christine Stebbins

CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. corn futures prices dived on Monday, falling as much as the maximum daily limit as worries about a slow start to corn planting eased and spurred profit taking, traders said.

A cold, wet spring across the heart of the U.S. Corn Belt kept farmers sidelined and put planting two to three weeks behind schedule. But the weekend was clear and warm, which helped fields to dry and gave farmers hope that seeding will pick up.

"The threatened torrential rains across the Midwest didn't really materialize to the extent that the market expected," said analyst Gavin Maguire with Iowa Grain in Chicago.

"The story of delayed plantings has played itself out. We had a lot of mileage from all the worries ... and hit some impressive price levels on the way up."

Chicago Board of Trade May corn was down 21-1/2 cents at $5.78 per bushel by midday, after falling the 30-cent daily trading limit early.

Last week, corn soared to record highs with most contracts surging far above $6 a bushel, triple historical prices.

American farmers were especially anxious about getting their corn planted on time this season -- wanting to reach maximum yields given the huge demand for U.S. corn for food and to produce the biofuel ethanol.

The upcoming week looks especially promising for planting in the southern and eastern Midwest which should be drier than the northern and western crop belt, private forecasters said.