Posted on 02/01/2011 5:03:46 PM PST by Kaslin
But a lot of wheat stopped going there due to corn ethanol subsidies.
"To be fair, not all of the food inflation can be blamed on the Fed. A good part of this problem can also be placed at the doorstep of bipartisan U.S. policies to subsidize ethanol."
"According to the Wall Street Journal, in 2001, only 7% of U.S. corn went to ethanol. By 2010, the ethanol share was 39%. So instead of growing wheat, our farmers are growing corn in order to cash in on ethanol subsidies."
Bingo! The article has great arguments against Keynesian economics, the Fed and subsidies. I'll be happy if we don't get another war.
Not all land in this country is best suited for wheat ~ at the same time much of the land best suited for corn is also devoted to roads, houses, and various public construction projects.
Yes Ethanol has been part of the equation but consider this;
The cost of anything in this world to a significant degree is based on the fuel to produce it and the fuel to move it.
The very governments who are at risk over high food prices are the same ones who have been jacking up the price of oil for 30 years.
Since the 1st oil embargo in the 70's some folks have pushed for a tit-for-tat, oil-for-wheat system of exports to get back at those who produce oil and nothing else. Fact is that system has always been in place and now we are seeing the payback.
The article suggested that farmers were enticed by subsidies.
That said, as a gardener who has been thwarted by a crop or two in my time, I’m sure not going to argue with anyone’s Grandpa about choosing reliable crops.
:)
There are really three main drivers of rising food prices here, the two Kudlow discussed, and one other.
1) Helicopter Ben’s financial policies which have created commodity price inflation.
2) Ethanol subsidies and mandates. Burning food! Such a great idea! What could go wrong!?
And finally, not discussed by Kudlow, and quite important,
3) Huge shortages in the Russian wheat crop in 2010.
Egypt in a normal year imports a *lot* of Russian wheat.
Drought ruins Russia wheat, U.S. says no world crisis
Thu Aug 12, 2010
http://www.reuters.com/article/2010/08/12/us-russia-heat-idUSTRE6751T820100812
Russia Wheat Export Ban Pushes Prices Near 2-Year High
August 6, 2010 at 3:15 PM EDT
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/2010/08/russia-export-ban-pushes-wheat-prices-near-two-year-high.html
ADM had a really nice bump yesterday. Worried about increase in food price? Hedge
“I believe that the ethanol scam was a deliberate attack on 3rd world populations, in keeping with Agenda 21.”
Isn’t amazing, if we attend a Tea Party rally or say right on, we become racists in the MSM’s eyes.
Yet, the MSM/Serial Killing Greens and our Rats push abortion on the poor in this country and around the world, banned DDT which kills thousands of innocents each day, and now push Mythanol to the point that our wheat crops are down which forces the prices of wheat up and ends up starving poor around the world.
The real racists are our rats, the socialists around the world, the Green Serial Killers of the poor and those who finance their “kill the innocent poor” deadly agendas.
Country | Maize area, ha | Maize production, Mt | Yield, Mt/ha |
United States of America | 28,789,240 | 256,904,560 | 8.92 |
(conversion) | 71,109,422.8 | 11,799,523,679 | |
Country | Wheat area, ha | Wheat production, Mt | Yield, Mt/ha |
United States of America | 21,383,410 | 63,589,820 | 2.97 |
(conversion) | 52,817,022.7 | 2,920,654,996.7 | |
Country | Rice area, ha | Rice production, Mt | Yield, Mt/ha |
United States of America | 1,212,860 | 9,033,610 | 7.45 |
(conversion) | 2,995,764.2 | 414,910,093.86 |
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