Posted on 09/22/2014 5:36:25 AM PDT by redgolum
“A bumper crop is bad news?
We have surely gone thru the looking glass.”
Respectfully, it is the consequence of formulatings ones’ thoughts on bumper stickerisms and slogans. Which is what we typically decry here on FR. There is no meaningful single-dimension analysis of this phenomenon.
There is so much corn in the market that the price has been destroyed. That is surely not good for farmers who planted (in excess, but we only know that now) who now must accept much lower prices than they anticipated. Is it good for us consumers? Eh, a little. We don’t eat that much corn, hopefully we don’t consume that much HFCS.
“Nothing is lost from the feed value by ethinol distillation.”
That’s true. There are large scale trials for cattle, hogs, poultry over tens of thousands of animals supporting your statement.
This isn’t about science and facts though, it’s about religious type beliefs.
Ethanol is the evil one.
We have surely gone thru the looking glass."
This is news to you only because you aren't in the agricultural sector of the economy.
"Overproduction, one of the top five worries for the American Farmer every year" has been an on and off tagline of mine for, well, ever since we were able to have one here on FR.
First World Problems.
Maybe you should “ground” them.
Ever met a farmer that makes money in any year? Yet, we still have farms!
Read the recent Farm Bill passed they have added a Crop Insurance Program where the farmers can’t lose even when commodity prices fall.
About time is all I can say. Farmers have been spending like drunken sailors for the last many years. Ethanol has artificially driven up prices and as someone said, some benefit but most lose.
As for cattle, well, same thing. Cattle people have gone nuts in lots of places betting that prices would stay high forever. The survivors of the drought are trying to cash in on the high prices now. In so doing they have driven up prices for grassland unreasonably this summer and so many sellers thought they were going to get fat they too got greedy in the bubble.
All the world is a bubble it seems. What happened to common sense that causes people to understand that all things gravitate to the mean over time and that you can’t extrapolate a point as indicative of forever?
I’m very happy to see people who build air castles get kicked in the gut to bring them back to earth. I wish it would happen to a lot more people a lot more often starting with doctors, politicians and lawyers.
I gather the biggest problem here is transportation, getting the grain to its largest consumers. However, other than ethanol, the big animal feed consumers should vie to have the surplus grain processed into more stable forms, and carefully stored, then build up huge reserves to stabilize the price over time.
http://www.researchintouse.com/nrk/RIUinfo/PF/CPH24.htm
Kind of an aside, I was a rebel and went to college, but my family still farms. I don’t remember the formula, but my Uncle can guess a corn yield in a given field within 5% by measuring the length of the ear and counting the number of rows of kernels around the ear. He could also guess a soybean yield based on the size of the individual beans.
That said, the farmers know what they have and are planning their market strategy. You can bet on it. They have a lot of options; sometimes none of them are good, but they have choices. They can do things like pick their corn early and pay drying bills to get to market before the prices drop. They can store it and sell next spring. They can hire trucks and haul the grain to larger buyers, typically closer to the river. They can sell now on contract. Farming is risky business.
>> Ethanol is the evil one.
There’s nothing at all evil about ethanol, per se.
But there’s something quite evil about taxpayer-subsidized ethanol — and there’s something patently evil about FORCING ethanol down everyone’s gas tank through the charade of global warming prevention. It’s rather hypocritical for one who claims to be conservative to pretend otherwise.
>> This isn’t about science and facts though, it’s about religious type beliefs.
I disagree, FRiend. It’s every bit about science. The science that says that hygroscopic ethanol destroys engines. The physics that dictates that the energy density of ethanol is significantly lower than gasoline. The bogus “climate science” that drives the ethanol mandate through false claims of global warming. The political calculus that leads politicians in farm states — even supposedly conservative ones — to favor an ethanol mandate for the sole reason that its subsidies line their farmers’ pockets.
And so on.
Simple question for you: yes or no — do you favor a mandate that requires a certain percentage of ethanol in gasoline?
Put another way — are you willing to remove ALL government subsidies and ethanol mandates, and allow ethanol to stand or fall on its own merits?
If not — WHY not?
The discussion had nothing to do with the efficasy of the ethinol itself.
I’m opposed to the mandate, and always have been.
As to the nonsense you and others spout about ethanol destroying engines, nearly every gasoline engine used in the United States today runs on gasoline containing ethanol.
It may destroy the gaskets and seals in some older engines, but only a fool would use rebuild kits which aren’t resistant to the effects of ethanol.
Need I say more? I probably do, but let me know before I bore everyone else.
>> As to the nonsense bla bla bla
ROFL!
The weasel words in your own statement give the truth away.
“NEARLY every gasoline engine... MAY destroy gaskets and seals in SOME older engines... REBUILD with ethanol proof gaskets...”
So to appease the farm lobby, we should stop our whining, throw away (or REBUILD! ROFL!) sixty to seventy percent of all automobiles, lawnmowers, motorcycles, chainsaws, etc. etc.) — and for what reason? TO KEEP THE FARMERS FAT AND HAPPY!
What a bunch of transparent. self serving bullshit!
Wouldn’t it be simpler to just stop forcing ethanol on everyone, burn straight gasoline, and not worry about it?
If not... WHY NOT?
Seals and gaskets are replaceable ... just sayin’.
You forgot to read my first sentence.
You’re foaming, BTW.
Strike the foaming bit.
Your name should have warned me.
Sure, seals and gaskets are replaceable.
But rebuilding incurs downtime and costs money. (Can you say “parts AND labor”? There! I thought you could.)
Isn’t it smarter to AVOID the need to replace seals and gaskets by burning fuel that doesn’t damage them?
Especially when there is ZERO benefit of ANY kind to burning the DUMB fuel. It’s not cheaper, it’s not safer, it’s not higher energy density, it doesn’t keep longer...)
Just sayin’.
>> You forgot to read my first sentence.
I read your first sentence. You negated it with the rest of your post though.
>> You’re foaming, BTW.
So what? As the saying goes, “Have you ever noticed that the one telling you to calm down is the one that pissed you off in the first place?”
Tell you what — I’ll try being calmer, if you’ll try some honesty.
Please, my preference is to go directly to hydrogen fuel. Ethanol for fuel is, well, depriving animals who make wonderful dishes on the table.
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