Posted on 02/09/2011 9:29:41 AM PST by NormsRevenge
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- U.S. reserves of corn have hit their lowest level in more than 15 years, reflecting tighter supplies that will lead to higher food prices in 2011. Increasing demand for corn from the ethanol industry is a major reason for the decline.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Wednesday that the ethanol industry's projected orders this year rose 8.4 percent, to 13.01 billion bushels, after record-high production in December and January.
That means the United States will have about 675 million bushels of corn left over at the end of year. .. roughly 5 percent of all corn that will be consumed, the lowest surplus level since 1996.
(Excerpt) Read more at finance.yahoo.com ...
Granted, ethanol is a poor vehicle, but the right concept, except for the subsidy.
If we did say, butanol, no subsidy, no engine issues, would there be a problem? Especially if the rest of the corn were separated up front into protein, oil, and whatever else is of value.
Create jobs, give the farmer a better outlet for his product. Better than putting it on a barge, waving to Huck Finn as you float by, and shipping it to people who hate us.
I think some just want to back to subsidized meat, which was what our current farm policy was designed for back under FDR. Meat in some ways is the original ethanol. I like cheap meat as much as the next guy, but I don’t think meat should be a sacred cow, pun intended, any more than ethanol.
Let’s get a true free market going for the farmer and consumer, not what we have now.
How many corn ethanol refineries would exist without subsidy?
I’m stocking up on bourbon, just in case.
Wondering why reserves were so low in 1996, being that ethanol wasn’t a factor at that time?Surprise! Surprise!
You are from Lee County, IOWA.
I seem to recall that higher octane gasoline with ethanol added was sold in IOWA many years before 1996 and at the same price as lower octane gasoline.
And to think that 235 years we fought a Revolution against a mad king that wanted to tax tea.
corn to ethanol...
better than feeding our enemies
Don't change the subject, please. You claimed people were starving because of ethanol production. The existence of subsidies is irrelevant.
How much corn do you grow? Or are you part-owner of a multilevel corn refinery scam?
It was barely a factor in corn usage till 2000 though we started seeing it in the 80’s.
If we were able to produce butanol, or ester fuel, with higher BTUs, no engine problems, and no subsidy, would that be a problem? Especially if we could separate out the other stuff first? Cuz that’s where the tech is going.
Yes, all the excess is in your damned gas tank, eating away at rubber hoses, gaskets, seals, sensors, etc.....aren’t we all glad that Ethanol is helping us to reduce our dependence on foreign oil?
Suspend Ethanol production... and save the endangered internal combustible engines.
to think that 235 years we fought a Revolution against a mad king that wanted to tax tea.
—
What’s that I smell brewin’?
TEA?
Party on. ;-]
“The reason it does is that the corn used for ethanol is EXTRA corn planted over and above what farmers would normally produce for food use,”
I myself wasn’t aware of that. But still, wouldn’t that land that is now used for ethanol production be used for some other grain, like wheat for example?
That would put at least some downward pressure on wheat prices. It seems to me we’re not better off fooling around with food like this. Especially since food inflation is potentially a real problem here in the U.S..
It is time to dump this multi-subsidied ethanol bullsh1t. too many repubs are in on it too and it just needs to end.
Which is why a lot of ethanol plants have shut down or idled production. That and the price point isn’t there.
The bigger issue is that this means sugar prices will go up, a lot.
I have no problem whatsoever talking about it, but that is NOT the subject YOU brought up. Why are you trying to dodge the issue YOU started to discuss.
"How much corn do you grow? Or are you part-owner of a multilevel corn refinery scam?"
Don't grow any, have zero connection to the ethanol industry in any fashion at all. My interest is strictly in pointing out the REAL HARD FACTS on the subject. There are valid reasons to object to corn-to-ethanol, but pretty much all the ones brought up on this thread are bogus, and "the people are starving" is one of those with the highest bogosity rating.
Not necessarily. In years past, many farmers would just not grow it. For decades, the US farmer has so overproduced corn that they were forced to sell it pretty much at or below the cost of production.
"That would put at least some downward pressure on wheat prices. It seems to me we’re not better off fooling around with food like this. Especially since food inflation is potentially a real problem here in the U.S.
The idea that there is likely to be large food price inflation is simply "idea fodder" for the folks who speculate in crop futures. A quick visit to the USDA website and a look at the crop situation will quickly disabuse anybody who thinks the US is likely to be short of food at anytime in the near future.
"The world" is having a food problem, almost exclusively caused by many countries not having a free market economy and ending up like Zimbabwe/Rhodesia, transiting from a major food exporter to basically starving to death due to their deadly attachment to socialism.
That will be a difficult transaction for many, but it is really necessary.
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