And the worst part: The fed. gov't subsidizes the hell (by way of money seized from taxpayers) out of ethanol. Basically: seizing money to funnel to a pipe dream that, in the end, costs us more.
Posted on 11/23/2011 3:24:04 PM PST by neverdem
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — 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.
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.
--snip--
Matt Hartwig, chief of staff for the Renewable Fuels Association, called the effort to rewrite the fuel standard law "little more than a Trojan horse effort" to weaken or even eliminate it. He said the farmers' complaints were overblown and most livestock producers and meatpacking companies were making good profits...
(Excerpt) Read more at cnsnews.com ...
Absolutely right. Depleting aquifers, interrupting market prices, government pork, destroying a big chunk of the gulf with algae, denying low-cost food to the rest of the world, burning a BTU of oil to make a BTU of ethanol. You name it.
Already have the hunting rifle and beef and pork on the hoof. I also have the corn in the bin. Fat and happy for now.
What a sneaky way to starve to death all the poor people on earth!!
And the worst part: The fed. gov't subsidizes the hell (by way of money seized from taxpayers) out of ethanol. Basically: seizing money to funnel to a pipe dream that, in the end, costs us more.
One thing that needs to be changed is get rid of the high tax on cane sugar and quit subsidizing HFCS (High Fructose Corn Syrup), therefore more would be available through that route as well.
Including the "panacea" mentioned serveral times above, "distillers dried grains". Currently running about $200-225/ton.
Corn is runing pretty close to the same price on a per ton basis, so there's no cost advantage to either feed.
Also either way, the feed cost is higher than it would be if the artifical demand for ethanol wasn't there.
How's them gubmint subsidees treatin' ya?
Bttt!
....its also easy to pik out the consumers on welfare on this thread. No better than the OWS movement.
They get govt welfare on Home Mtg. Int deduction, Retirement plan welfare for IRA/401k deductions, College welfare for tuition deductions, participate in the grand ponzi scheme of SS/Medicare happily, They gotten cheap food,clothing and energy well under world market levels for decades......
At least a subsidy enhances the full society....welfare is a dead end, no return to society...just a carrot on a stick like a donkey.
Hopefully the Iowa hog farmers lobby will reduce the power of the Iowa corn farmers lobby and bring some sanity back into the feed market.
......if corn growers have a bad year.....
In October I traveled through 17 states passing through seemingly endless miles of cornfields. The path included extensive views of the crop said to have been doomed by water, perhaps late but there in overabundance.
It seems we have an elastic commodity. That is as demand increases, so does the production. While the claims above seem reasonable, the facts may be that enough corn will be produced to fill all demand.
Then there is exports. As you traverse the Mississippi river you see mega storage and transport facilities for export. If there is a crop diminution, exports will go, domestic will be retained.
I will not argue for ethanol, but my eyes saw am abundance of corn that is awesome.
It appears the meat farmers are jealous of the corn farmers
Even countries like China have banned new ethanol projects. They know that ethanol from corn is NOT an economical source of “new” energy.
How scizophrenic and stupid is our energy policy? We grow corn, not to eat, but to put in our gas tanks, while we refuse to send oil via pipeline from a massive source only 200 miles north of our border.
HA!
Spoken like a true Statist.
"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's progress. I don't know if that's all of corn ethanol's subsidies. My main problem is subsidies, all subsidies, except for basic science, e.g. getting hydrocarbon fuel from cellulose in new and cheaper methods, not distilling ethanol from corn. There should be nothing for producing commodities. That's what a free market should determine.
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