Posted on 06/24/2007 10:10:56 AM PDT by Dan Evans
LUBBOCK, Texas — Motorists might save a few cents a gallon filling their tanks with ethanol, but they could soon be paying more for a burger and a milkshake as a result.
Demand for corn to make ethanol is soaring and so are the prices, which have more than doubled in the past year. That’s bad news for beef and dairy producers who depend on grain to feed their herds. Many say the cost will be passed on to consumers in the form of higher grocery bills this year.
“There’s a lot of concern among cattle feeders,’’ said Jim Gill, market director for Amarillo-based Texas Cattle Feeders Association. “It’s not a moneymaking proposition right now.’’
Cattle feedyards like the one Kyle Williams manages in Texas, the nation’s leading cattle-producing state, is one of the first stops on the road to higher beef prices.
About a quarter of the 30,000 animals at Lubbock Feeders were bought before corn prices began to soar steadily and the added cost was not factored into the price. Williams knows he’ll lose money when it’s time to sell.
Corn costs went from $4 per 100 pounds last June to about $8.50 per 100 pounds this month, Gill said. Cattle feeders are losing as much as $100 per head because of the higher prices, he said.
By December, corn costs could push the already high beef prices consumers are paying even higher, Gill said.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that the average price for choice beef in May was already the second highest on record at nearly $4.30 per pound, just a couple of pennies under the record set in November 2003.
Cattle feeders and producers are not the only ones complaining about higher corn prices. Dairy farmers also are feeling the pinch.
“As more acres go into corn it takes out other forages,’’ Canton dairy farmer Scott Ortiz said.
Farmers who once grew forage crops like alfalfa, milo or grain sorghum are switching to corn, so there are fewer forage crops to feed dairy cows, said John Cowan, executive director of the Texas Association of Dairymen.
Milk prices are expected to continue climbing because of higher transportation costs and the increased demand for corn.
And it won't do one thing for the US as you deem important.
We can do both. Make small farming easier for the individual and we will have more corn than we know what to do with. Americans weren’t born to live in cities.
This program is a sham and a pay off for growers, funded by ALL consumers”
The big support $$$$ for this deal is in the Ethanol plants. NOT in the corn/farmers.
Hopefully this ethanol farce will end with the start of the next Administration.
Yes! Absolutely. A lot of people saw that if we are required to burn food for fuel, food prices would rise. It's a no-brainer.
I suspect the professional traders have already factored in tight supplies. The time to go long on corn futures would have been 6 months ago.
It’s going to get much worse. The western end of the corn belt, from Kansas to the Dakotas, and much of Iowa, are drowning in excess rain, and many acres haven’t been planted to corn this year. Some areas may not even dry out in time to plant soybeans. The other end of the belt—the southeast and mid-atlantic states—are suffering from a severe drought. It wouldn’t surprise me to see corn at $7.50/bushel by October.”
It has bothered me all along to “depend” on a crop that depends on Mother Nature. Harder to deal with Mother Nature than it is to deal with OPEC, IMO.
Food as fuel is the DOPIEST idea ever! How much fuel goes into producing that food fuel? I bet the resources necessary to harvest and produce fuel from corn is about the same as what is gained from it. This idea is as DUmb as harvesting Sperm whales for fuel.
He is right about that concept, although I would say it will take well more than that.
And I can't even imagine the price of food in the future, along with the unpredictable changes in geopolitics and trade - and our economy - as we change permanently from a food exporter to a food importer.
Hopefully. But it is going to be battle royal because of all the vested interests. Look at the morons here who say, "Invest in grain futures". It is more than just the ADM corporation who will pay whatever it takes to buy the politicians who will support their scheme. And politicians are cheap.
Quiz. What happens to the price of a commodity when a government program is created to artificially inflate demand?
Food prices are rising NOW sir. When these new magic technologies appear to solve the problem, we won't need laws to mandate the burning of food.
But farmers will be a major political force in the battle to end it. They will be hurt bad if the price of corn collapses.
Cattle do better on grass.
Umm, that was me, and I was being sarcastic.
Next time I'll remember the (s) tag.
Hmmmmm ..?? I believe Rush has another “see, I told ya so”.
The Ethanol plants are getting subsidies to get them online ASAP. The farmers are getting a higher price for their corn. You and I are paying more for ALL our food.
I and other horse and cattle owners are paying more for hay now, and it is rising fast.
It is stupid to burn your food as fuel. Period.
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