Ethanol
...and soybeans are impacting both the economy and the environment in a negative way. Food prices and fuel prices are on a record increase due to the excess demand for bio fuels. As a county we should focus on finding to an alternate source for bio energy.
Historically such commodities as corn and soybeans have typically had a surplus market. Throughout much of the 1980’s one of the largest consumers for these commodities was exporting to other countries, another large consumer was to use it as a supply for feed for livestock. The average price of corn paid to farmers in 1980 was $3.11 per bushel, and in 2005 the average price was $3.50, this was after many years of much lower prices. (Mitchell)
The corn market has been considered a stable market because of the predictable small increases through the years. Today’s current market price for corn is up to about $5.70 a bushel, why the huge jump after 25 plus years of stable prices? Is there a shortage for this precious commodity we know as corn? In the past few year crop productions have been reaching record highs and more farmers are plating Corn than ever before, in 2007 farmers harvested an estimated 85.4 million acres of con, and forecast for 2008 is that farmers will plant even more. (Dougherty) Technology has also helped to increase the total crop production, from the higher yielding hybrid corn plants, to more efficient irrigation methods, and the better equipment, all of these increased crop yields. This does not make sense, if we are producing record amounts of a commodity then the price coloration should be that the excess supply would drive the market value down, but this is not the case for has been happening in the current corn markets.
In the early 1970’s, Ethanol, which is commonly produced from corn, came in to the renewable fuel source scene, as the solution fossil fuel dependency....
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