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The problem here is we won't buy ethanol from anyone but corn producers. Brazil wants to export to us, but we won't lower the import tax. Why won't we get ethanol from sugar cane, sugar beets, rice, potatoes, from other countries? Iowa has this sewed up in congress. We cannot plan enough corn to do this. It will take other crops and other countries to make a difference in oil imports. Africa, Haiti, Dominican Rep, etc, all have sugar plantations rotting in the sun. We can't sell rice to China, Japan, or Viet Nam because they protect their farmers. There are plenty of carbs around to make ethanol if we just get off the corn only bandwagon.

Good idea, but it was a matter of first things first. Let's face it. We had mountains of corn...literally. We've been shipping it out of the country in the billions of bushels for decades to feed other country's hogs. Selling it for a pittance, and having to heavily subidize farmers because of it.

Better to add value to it at home, which is what we're doing.

In Manitoba Canada, thier ethanol plant uses mostly grain, since corn does grow as well at that latitude. They can also use sugar beets and other crops depending on supplies. I can't figure out why corn is the only crop those ethanol plants use, when corn isn't even the best crop TO use for maximum ethanol production.

It must be a sweetheart deal with Ohio and it's mainly corn producers, ie someones getting they pockets lined.

Just as I can't see why a hog producer is squealing about corn prices for feed stocks. Most hog producers don't even use corn, at least not at any of the super barns around here.
Corn isn't the best for nutritional value, produces more stinky waste, and is always more expensive than other feed stocks, which are barley based blends, which include crops such as peas, lentils, soy beans, flax tailings, and waste from the human food markets, such as day old bread/ bakery waste, eggs, milk, vegetable and other products with expiry dates, all of which is gathered up by feedstock companies and mixed into cheap pigslop.

Plus, it isn't such a bad thing that commodity prices are going up, perhaps farmersw will make enough money actually growing crops and we can get rid of all those subsidies.

I agree....let Brazil sell us their cheaper ethanol made from sugar cane....

We have replaced one source of energy we won't allow our producers to drill for in our own country with another, that is driving the cost of beef, chicken..heck even cheese higher. This is moronic. Count me out on the ethanol bandwagon.

Let Brazil sell us their cheaper ethanol made from sugar cane....

ADM has signaled its determination to maintain corn -- for which it has billions of dollars in assets geared toward buying, moving, storing, and processing in place -- as the main ethanol feedstock.

How cash and corporate pressure pushed ethanol to the fore.......

http://www.grist.org/news/maindish/2006/12/06/ADM/index.html

The problem here is we won't buy ethanol from anyone but corn producers. Brazil wants to export to us, but we won't lower the import tax.

In 2006 we imported 3.5 Billion liters (925 Million Gallons) of ethanol from Brazil. They do more than want to; they export more to us than anywhere else.

US is largest, but Brazil most efficient ethanol producer