2012 Corn Crop Shortfall

[Slabs]

I've been watching the news items on the "short" corn crop due to drought in the midwest.

My thoughts oriented toward the use of food corn to make alcohol for gasoline additive.  Is there a mandate by the bureaucracy to use alcohol as a fuel additive?  If so this might be a good oppurtunity to shift corn usage back to food.   I mean to include livestock food also.

Your comment and information please.

[Roxie]

I was very surprised to learn that the government mandates 40% of corn production must be used for Ethanol.  The United Nations has asked the US not to adhere to that for right now, because of food needs in other countries.  I haven't heard if or what the US response was to that request. 

[Mark Wentzell]

I was very surprised to learn that the government mandates 40% of corn must be used for Ethanol. 

40%!    I've read that it was more like 10-15%, I didn't know it was that much.

What percentage of fuel usage in the US is covered by ethanol?

[shelbycharger400]

The biggest thing I dont understand is why do we have to feed these other people!
tell them to grow their own food, and deal with their own problems.

[sparky1]

like your thinking shelby... im sure not all on here agree... let them in the middle east see how good their oil tastes...

[Slabs]

I agree because I have strong feelings about a country being able to feed itself.  Not that I'm against staple trade but when a society depends on another for subsistence, it becomes subservient to that other.

We have come to importing too many of our own staples also.

[Norm]

One historic drought and we that built this industry should just fold up and go under because of the price of your corn flakes. I'd be more than happy to keep all the ethanol we produce for ourselves and the rest can go suck up to the middle east and exxon.

[BBTom]

I think the government should concern itself with protecting our liberties, and let the market decide if ethanol is the right way to use corn.  I am all for it, IF it is cost effective.  If not, then let free enterprise find something that is cost effective. 

[Cedarman]

Remember back a few years when foreign companies were buying up all the veneer logs at high prices.  US companies were wanting the government to pass a law putting taxes on those logs or doing something to stop the export because it was hurting American companies.
Well, what about the growers of those nice logs.  Why should they be penalized with lower prices and forced to sell local even though local companies can't match foreign prices?
Why should consumers be entitled to low food prices?  If food followed inflation over the last 50 years, it would be double in price now.  Milk was 69 cents a gallon in the 60's, it ought to be $7.00 per gallon now.
Government mandated ethonol in gasoline to lower polution. Government has stuck its nose in the marketplace and bad things happen.  You take corn away from ethonol and what happens to the companies that make ethonol? Now the government is in the position of hurting one group or the other.
As I see it the farm program is subsidizing the food for food stamp people.  Look where farm program money goes these days.
Anyone thinks that the price of food is too high, grow your own and process it.

[Kansas]

The ethanol companies can survive without the subsidies, I believe, as far as corn goes. Why the big push into biofuel from wood waste and other stuff. Not so sure they didn't phase out the subsidies for corn to ethanol, because corn is so dependent on water. Wood waste and such is not. It is correct that the ethanol is used to make the gas burn cleaner. They had used some other substance which name escapes me now, but it turned out to be carcinogenic. If there was a tank leak, it got into people's wells and such. Most all gasoline is running 10% ethanol. That is a chunk that does not go to buy oil from people we don't want to deal with.

There are about 69 boxes of corn flakes made with a bushel of corn. Even if corn goes to 10 bucks a bushel, that is only about 15 cents a box. There is also about 69 1 lb loaves of bread made out of a bushel of wheat. I think wheat is 8 bucks or so a bushel, but even if it goes to 10, 15 cents for the wheat in a loaf of bread. Today, I will get some hot dog buns and have brats off the grill. I don't know what they will cost me, but I imagine close to 2 dollars for the package of buns. I am not paying for the wheat. I am paying for the packaging, having them made, delivered to the store, etc.

[Norm]

The blenders credit went away some time ago. The RFS mandates how much ethanol must be used by big oil and they use it as an additive to make cleaner burning fuel. MTBE that the refiners were using to do the same as ethanol turned out to be a disaster. Very nasty stuff so it was dropped and ethanol used to replace it. Refiners have no other choice but to use a blended gasoline because of EPA mandates for a cleaner burning fuel even if the RFS mandates are dropped. If they do waiver it you'll see an entire industry built over many years go belly up. I doubt anyone at exxon or in the middle east would be upset with their competition going under.

All of the folks that use it for feed are pushing EPA to drop the mandate. Never mind that when meat prices go up they blame it on feed prices but a major part of our meat production is sent overseas. How about we tell them no exports and more imports and see how they feel about being told how to market their products.

With the drought this year me and plenty of other farmers would be in a world of hurt without this price rise. Many would go under, many others do without.

We get historic droughts every so often, last one was in "88". Give us an incentive and you'll find there will be plenty to feed and fuel us and the rest of the world.

[terry f]

    One thing America does well is feed its self, and grow its own food. Cattle markets correct themselves every few years, I think poultry will have a tough time this comeing year.

[Bandmill Bandit]

Is it possible that so much of Government policy today is so screwed up because of the fact the MOST elected representatives have never been out side an urban area except in a car on a free way? Never worked a day in the bush, on a farm, in a mine, on the water and probably not even in a factory?

I dont know how the actual decline of "country folk" in the halls of government actually plays out but I do know that most "country folk" can move to a city and survive and very few urban folk last more then a few days in the REAL country areas of this continent because they do not have the common sense it takes to survive and for the most part not developed the skill to even learn how to survive out "here". Unless us country folk take them under our wing the yare back in the city in about 2 shakes of a lambs tail, maybe 3.

Most country folk can run a town pretty darn good.

Most city folk can run to the 7-11, the restaurant, Wallmart etc. etc. and even that they screw up with road rage and a long list of other stoopid things. 

I know I am generalizing but if half the people in the halls of government were country folk i thin policy would be vastly different. JMO for what that is worth ;D
   

[shelbycharger400]

bandmill... that post brings a  ;D to my face
Few years ago, camping a few miles back on a logging road up in pine river mn with the wife, and her kia rio  :D.
Dnr warden stopped and talked to me. He asked a few questions.. 'are you cutting trees in here?.. NO. Where did you get the firewood.   Why do you have a chain saw, an axe, and a hatchet.
I said, You never know when a tree will block the road, or if the road washes out, he said what would you do if it did wash out, I said,  I could line the road with small logs, and build a makeshift log road . 

He seemed rather impressed, and said atleast someone comes here prepared to spend a few nights .