[Bas]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Gideon', 'T')he OP wrote:

"Here’s the deal. This year about 17 percent of the North American corn crop went to making ethanol for the continent’s millions of cars and trucks. Next year about 50 percent of the crop is slated for ethanol, and in two years, if all the new distilleries planned are built, 90 percent of the corn crop will go to make fuel for cars."


Can you back this up? This seems flat out wrong.

[Aaron]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'P')ersonally, I would sooner see $10 billion blown a year in ethanol R&D subsidies

[Aaron]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'E')thanol production is heavily subsidized to keep it affordable. One study says that federal and state subsidies in 2006 were as high as $6.8 billion and will increase to $8.7 billion this year.

[Colorado-Valley]

From the Business Week article over at Energy Bulletin:

"The spike in the price of corn that's hurting Boerboom and other pork producers isn't caused by any big dip in the overall supply. In the U.S., last year's harvest was 10.5 billion bushels, the third-largest crop ever. But instead of going into the maws of pigs or cattle or people, an increasing slice of that supply is being transformed into fuel for cars. The roughly 5 billion gallons of ethanol made in 2006 by 112 U.S. plants consumed nearly one-fifth of the corn crop. If all the scores of factories under construction or planned go into operation, fuel will gobble up no less than half of the entire corn harvest by 2008."

I'm really thinking about sticking with raising grass-fed cattle. Corn takes a lot of work and energy imputs, and you always have those unknown unknowables, like late frost, hail and too much rain during harvest season. Farming is a Las Vegas gamble ...

Raising cattle on solar grass is so much easier, as long as you can raise your own hay for the winter.

Have you guys seen what the price of hay is now? My God ...

[Bas]

can't wait to pay more for meat, don't eat much of it as it is...

[MrBill]

Aaron wrote:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')nd when you argue demand will be destroyed lowering Chinese & Indian demand... it's 1938 all over again.

(Didn't mean to hold you personally responsible)

[Aaron]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('MrBill', 'A')aron wrote:
$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'A')nd when you argue demand will be destroyed lowering Chinese & Indian demand... it's 1938 all over again.

(Didn't mean to hold you personally responsible)

[Colorado-Valley]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Gideon', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'O')P wrote:"If all the scores of factories under construction or planned go into operation, fuel will gobble up no less than half of the entire corn harvest by 2008." "

[Dreamtwister]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Aaron', 'A')dd all the switch-grass or whatever you like to the mix... American farmers will still be selling their corn to the highest bidder... & that bidder will be Shell... not Archer Daniels.

[Aaron]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Dreamtwister', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Aaron', 'A')dd all the switch-grass or whatever you like to the mix... American farmers will still be selling their corn to the highest bidder... & that bidder will be Shell... not Archer Daniels.

[Dreamtwister]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Aaron', 'I') deserve that...

[Aaron]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'e')ven the oil companies can't compete with the pure evil that is Archer Daniels Midland.

[charlesfinney_99]

I believe the trend of biofuel usage causing higher price of grain due to competition between fuels and foods is inexorable


But the question is whether biofuel can replace decreasing crude-based fuels,or even mitigate Peak Oil


Expanded biofuel production WILL require more crude oil,so Peak Oil may accelerate the depletion of Crude Oil

[dinopello]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('charlesfinney_99', 'E')xpanded biofuel production WILL require more crude oil,so Peak Oil may accelerate the depletion of Crude Oil

[Dreamtwister]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Aaron', 'I') loled

[Pixie]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Bas', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Gideon', 'T')he OP wrote:

"Here’s the deal. This year about 17 percent of the North American corn crop went to making ethanol for the continent’s millions of cars and trucks. Next year about 50 percent of the crop is slated for ethanol, and in two years, if all the new distilleries planned are built, 90 percent of the corn crop will go to make fuel for cars."


Can you back this up? This seems flat out wrong.

[eastbay]

...ethanol factories will increase ethanol production 250% in the next two years. That would be 50% of the US corn crop in two years, not 90%.

Actually, if one takes 20% of anything, say red marbles, and increases its percentage by 250% it will result in red marbles rising to 70% of the total.

I'm just a simple retired cop, so maybe my math is screwey so please someone correct me if I'm wrong.

I calculate a 100% increase (doubling) of 20% red marbles would be 40% red marbles. A 200% increase (tripling) would be 60% red marbles and a 250% increase (tripling and a half) would be 70% red marbles, which is also probably about the percentage of US corn production that will go to fuels in two years.

70%, not 50% or 90%.

[eastbay]

That's what I'm talking about..... good at math! Lol...

[Tyler_JC]

50%, 70%, 90%, it doesn't matter.

We don't have enough corn to make it happen. Well, we could grow more corn, but I'd prefer a little variety in my diet.

And even if we felt like becoming a net food importer in order to become a little more energy independent, we would starve off an entire continent to fuel our cars.

This corn ethanol stuff is utter madness!

At least with corn ethanol the subsidy is direct and easily measureable. How much of the war in Iraq should we tack on to gasoline's real cost?

[Colorado-Valley]

The figures I read a couple of weeks ago were 17 percent of the corn crop this year, 50 percent in 2008 and up to 90 percent in 2009 — if all the ethanol plants currently on paper actually get built.

Every corn stalk in the country will go to ethanol if there's money to be made.