Huge sowings ease ethanol crunch on U.S. corn - Reuters

[Eugene]

Source: Reuters

Huge sowings ease ethanol crunch on U.S. corn

By Charles Abbott Fri Jun 29, 2:25 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. farmers are on track to grow their
biggest corn crop ever, an astonishing 12.8 billion bushels, a
government report said on Friday, enough for livestock feeders and
the booming fuel ethanol industry.

"There will be enough corn," Agriculture Secretary Mike Johanns said.
"It looks to me ... some of the pressure went off."

Ethanol production is forecast to double by the end of 2008 to more
than 13 billion gallons. Demand for corn will continue to grow in the
near term despite mammoth crops. A bushel of corn, the major
feedstock for ethanol, yields 2.8 gallons of the renewable fuel.

Based on a survey of 88,000 growers in the first half of June, the
Agriculture Department said farmers planted 92.9 million acres of corn
this spring, the largest sowing since 1944 and 3 percent more than
growers planned in March.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070629/sc_nm/usa_acreage_dc

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. But what about the crunch (sic) on US corn for food?

That is where the real problem is: food is being diverted for fuel, which is starting to drive the price of some foods higher and higher.

[Vincardog]

2. What about all the Latin American farmers who were driven off their land

because they could not compete with US subsidized grain? Oh yeah they walked to the US to pick grapes.

[amandabeech]

3. Perhaps if the worldwide price of corn increases enough due to

the ethanol craze, they'll go back.

Their farms should be more fertile having rested for a bit.