That was my first thought; what about the other states? Even here in the “Gay State”, I’ve never seen so many formerly fallow fields full of corn. Ditto up in NH and Maine, and what about all of the other crops?
Somewhere recently I heard that about 1/3 of the US corn crop is now going for ethenol. If so, that would explain today's relatively high corn prices.
Years ago I heard that in New York State, for example, which 100 years ago was farming virtually all the land that COULD be farmed, today the number is more like 50%.
The reason was not the growth of urban areas, but just that, given New York's conditions, farming became no longer profitable.
I'm wondering if that's still the case, and if that 50% figure is starting to rise now.