“Ruining soil to make ethanol for cars is a terrible use of trace minerals. “
Do you farm?
Raising corn for ethanol doesn’t “ruin the soil”. The soil will be farmed and things grown ethanol or not.
Farmers can use good farming practices or not use good farming practices; they choose.
Anhydrous ammonia has been used since probably the 40’s. The other alternative would be the more costly urea source of nitrogen. Or animal manure if available; which is a great source; but isn’t available everywhere.
I do research on native plant habitat restoration on a parcel that was once farmed. Farming it lost all the organic matter, clay, stored charcoal, and trace minerals. All that was left was sand.
I do forestry, grassland restoration, and developed that soil with minimal amendments for growing food. I'll be going to composting toilets soon with the goal of making the whole human support system portable with minimal impact (although impact is not inherently a bad thing). So I'm tackling the whole problem. It's an interesting challenge.
Farmers can use good farming practices or not use good farming practices; they choose.
There is no market for soil futures.
The other alternative would be the more costly urea source of nitrogen. Or animal manure if available; which is a great source; but isn’t available everywhere.
You presume a lot here.
BTW, I’m not your enemy here; I’m trying to teach you something. I have a lot of respect for farmers, but I do think the system must change over the long run. I’m in the process of writing a book about that.