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| Economy |
| Livestock farmers say ethanol eats too much corn |
| 2011-11-23 |
| Livestock farmers are demanding a change in the nation's ethanol policy, claiming current rules could lead to spikes in meat prices and even shortages at supermarkets if corn growers have a bad year. But central planning is ever so much more efficient... The amount of corn consumed by the ethanol industry combined with continued demand from overseas has cattle and hog farmers worried that if corn production drops due to drought or another natural disaster, the cost of feed could skyrocket, leaving them little choice but to reduce the size of their herds. A smaller supply could, in turn, mean higher meat prices and less selection at the grocery store. The ethanol industry argues such scenarios are unlikely, but farmers have the backing of food manufacturers, who also fear that a federal mandate to increase production of ethanol will protect that industry from any kind of rationing amid a corn shortage. The subject of debate is the Renewable Fuel Standard, a 2005 law requiring the nation to produce 7.5 billion gallons of renewable fuel by 2012. The standard was changed in 2007 to gradually increase the requirement to 36 billion gallons by 2022. While a $5 billion-a-year federal ethanol subsidy is scheduled to expire this year, the production requirement will remain, unless it's changed by Congress. That has other corn consumers worried that if production falls and rationing is needed, ethanol companies will be exempt. The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently reduced its estimate of this year's corn crop because of flooding in the Midwest and drought in the southern plains, and corn reserves are expected to fall to a 20-day supply next year. A 30-day supply is considered healthy. At the same time, the price of corn for livestock feed has risen from an average of just over $3 a bushel in 2006-07 to an average of more than $6 this year. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #3 ...except, maybe, to drink. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2011-11-23 17:19 |
| #2 $5 billion-a-year federal ethanol subsidy There is the crux of the problem. Without that, no one with a pocket calculator would be turning corn into ethanol. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2011-11-23 17:16 |
| #1 You forget, the drought in Texas has caused The deaths of tens of thousands that were to be fed, add that into your calculations? Hmmm, there's feed aplenty. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2011-11-23 17:02 |