The Ethanol Papers - Paperturn manuscript - Flipbook - Page 267
Maybe you are using the wrong time frame. Compare corn prices before the
gasohol program and after the gasohol programs. In subsequent years I do not
know what is happening to corn prices. I do know that corn production per acre
has skyrocketed due to genetically modified corn and use of RoundUp and
other herbicides that allow weed free crops and no till farming. The increase
productivity of all American farms per acre has meant that least productive
acres have been taken out of farming and used for other purposes. This may
have brought corn prices back down. I just don't have the data.
If farmer are not making any additional money from growing corn for ethanol
why are farmers and farmer dominated states so intent on keeping the ethanol
program alive. Politicians have wanted to kill the ethanol from corn program for
years now and have been unsuccessful.
I don't understand "convolutedly incorrect." Are you a farmer or a farm lobbyist?
To say farmers have not profited by higher corn prices is just not what the local
farmers are telling me here in Maryland where I live . Are you saying middlemen
are making all the profits or saying there are no large windfall profits from growing corn for ethanol? We both may be correct. Sometime articles only cover
small times frames and portray a different picture than in larger time frames. I'd
like to sort out what is true.
Reply from MARC:
Ray, other than if you're trying to find areas of contrariness, I'm not sure what it
is that you believe that differs from what I've presented.
You question my use of "convolutedly incorrect." I used this because the intention of most farmers - like all other businessmen - is to make a profit. Perhaps
people became so used to hearing about farmers struggling financially that they
think it's alarming to learn that they've made a profit.
Clearly, the advent of the ethanol blends in place of poisonous leaded gasoline
and MTBE gasoline has benefitted farmers, but so what? If someone has been
struggling for years to produce blue dye and the fashion industry decides that
blue is the "hot" color you wouldn't think ill of the guy for now being successful.
Even if the dye manufacturer increased his prices because of the change in
fashion trends you wouldn't fault him; after all, that's what supply and demand
