Anyone paying even the slightest attention to global commodities' markets and prices, whether precious metals, industrial metals, rubber, grains - essentially all raw materials and resources - has witnessed what many call a "supercycle" of increased demand, driven in large part by China and India. The Contrary Investor believes this is a trend that will continue for many years to come. Greater demand for consumer goods, food and fuel is being supported by gains in per capita income, particularly in developing countries and markets.

David Fuller's view Fullermoney is also interested in seed companies and I will comment on the two mentioned by The Contrary Investor in the Subscriber's Area.

Alex Seagle also hosts the venerable Contrary Opinion Forum which will meet for the 49th consecutive year on October 5th - 7th. Having attended two of these delightful events, as a speaker in 2008 and again last month, I can say without maligning anyone that most of the experts are in the audience.

Consequently, what I enjoy most about The Contrary Opinion Forum are the informal receptions and especially the 3-a-day dining sessions with other attendees. Mrs Fuller also had me kayaking and even swimming, briefly, in Lake Champlain (f 59 degrees according to the boathouse assistant), so I was relieved when the speeches commenced.

It is not unusual to meet delegates at The Contrary Opinion Forum who treat it as a holiday and have attended, more or less, for the last 10, 20 and even 30 years. They enjoy the events, Basin Harbor and Vermont's spectacular autumn foliage.

Alex Seagle mentioned Monsanto and DuPont among the leading seed producers, favouring the latter on a contrarian basis. Previously, we have favoured DuPont, not least due to its relative strength and greater dividend. Monsanto's agronomists and biochemists did have a setback when their SmartStax corn seeds did not meet expectations, but they will presumably redouble efforts.

This overlay chart shows the comparative performances of Monsanto and DuPont. The former bottomed with a weekly key reversal in July and has successfully tested that low. Sustained breaks above the August high and the 200-day moving average would be the next positive developments. Lastly, this ratio chart of MON divided by DD shows that the former is near a level from which its relative performance could improve once again. This evidence suggests that Alex Seagle will be right over the medium to longer term.