There is no denying the fact that agriculture stocks have been some of the hottest stocks on wall street in the past 52 weeks. The companies have shown terrific amounts of growth, and the stocks have responded by going up five or six fold in many cases.
In the recent selloff in mid to late January these stocks were hit hard and quick, losing 25 to 30% of their value in most cases within about 7 or 8 trading days. Take a look at agriculture market leaders like Mosaic (NYSE:MOS), Deere and Company (NYSE:DE), and Potash (NYSE:POT) and you will find the common traits of high powered growth and great returns with quick sharp selloffs that haven't been able to drag down these stocks for long. In the markets rebound the last couple of weeks these stocks have jumped back up, gaining back more than half of their losses in most cases. Importantly, almost all of these stocks have traded back above their 50 day moving average. Take a look at the chart of MOS, which shows the breaking of the 50 day moving average and the quick rebound back above it. 
What is the future for these agriculture stocks? Obviously these names have a big stake in exactly how the overall market does. If the overall market has indeed bottomed, I would bet that these stocks have also bottomed and can resume their market leading position. If the overall market has more capitulation to come, expect these stocks to be hit especially hard. Agriculture stocks have been hot stocks for a long time, and often in the last few days of a bottoming process these stocks are hit the very hardest. If the market has some days of massive selling where these stocks get punished I see an opportunity, since the market will likely overshoot on the downside in these names.
Time will tell how the week to week trade will go for agriculture stocks, but one thing is for sure, this group has terrific fundamentals backing it.
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