Craig Chase can't recall more volatile time in agriculture

Agri News: GARNER, Iowa -- Craig Chase, Iowa State University farm management specialist based in Tripoli, can't recall a more volatile time in agriculture. 'I started with Extension in the late 1970s and rode out the 1980s, and it was a whole lot easier to predict what was going to happen then than it is now,' Chase said at a farmland leasing meeting last week in the Hancock County Extension office in Garner. Land values have more than doubled since 2000. The bioeconomy has brought a rapid increase in corn and soybean prices. It has also changed marketing opportunities. Due to wild fluctuations in prices, most elevators have stopped forward contracting."

USDG inaugurates ethanol rail terminal in Texas

Ethanol Producer Magazine -- U.S. Development Group LLC, an industry leader in ethanol handling and distribution terminals, celebrated the grand opening of its Dallas-Fort Worth Rail Terminal LLC, a state-of-the-art ethanol handling and distribution terminal located in Arlington, Texas. A wholly owned subsidiary of Houston-based USDG, the rail terminal will distribute a majority of fuel-grade ethanol for north and central Texas and provide much-needed logistical diversification in the ethanol fuel supply chain, according to Larry Padfield, vice president of USDG.

Anti-ethanol coalition stokes food versus fuel debate

Medill Reports, May 28, 2008 - There is a battle blewing over cornstarch-based ethanol in Washington, pitting onetime allies against each other. The camps are not separated by party affiliation, but by geography and interest in the agriculture supply chain. Each side is vying for the public’s compassion in a time when Americans are faced with a faltering economy and rising energy and food costs.

As the clash intensifies, so does interest in cellulosic ethanol.

Researchers use fungus to improve corn-to-ethanol process

PHYSORG.com - Growing a fungus in some of the leftovers from ethanol production can save energy, recycle more water and improve the livestock feed that’s a co-product of fuel production, according to a team of researchers from Iowa State University and the University of Hawai’i.

“The process could change ethanol production in dry-grind plants so much that energy costs can be reduced by as much as one-third,” said Hans van Leeuwen, an Iowa State professor of civil, construction and environmental engineering and the leader of the research project.

Late corn crop threatens food supply

msnbc.com video: This year's planting delay caused by bad weather is the topic of a two-minute video clip aired on msnbc.com Nightly News. The story was developed with assistance from Jim Fawcett, ISU Extension field agronomist based in Iowa City.

US ethanol policy under siege in food-for-fuel debate

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Amid a surge in food prices blamed in part on US expansion of corn-based ethanol production, lawmakers, experts and industry officials are urging the government to rethink a new law mandating alternative fuels.

The United States is the world's top producer of corn-based ethanol, which the administration of President George W. Bush sees as a way of reducing dependence on foreign oil and curb fossil-fuel emissions, the main source of man-made global warming.

Some of the pressures facing ethanol

By The Associated Press - The ethanol industry finds itself with fewer friends these days. Some of the forces lining up against it:

HIGH FOOD PRICES: The food industry says ethanol and its demand for corn is behind much of the run-up in food prices over the past year and food shortages in some countries. Ethanol makers and a number of independent studies say ethanol is a minor factor compared to oil prices.

Ethanol turmoil a serious threat to some companies

BusinessWeek -- Not long ago, the fledgling ethanol industry was the darling of investors, farmers, the federal government and a lot of Americans who liked the idea of turning corn into fuel.

But suddenly, it doesn't have nearly as many friends.

Rising worldwide food prices and shortages have spurred calls in Congress to roll back the federal requirement that increases the amount of ethanol and other biofuels blended with the nation's gasoline supply. Critics say so much corn is being used for ethanol that there's less available for people and animals to eat, raising prices of everything from tortillas to meat.

Purdue Economist Says Biofuels Not Biggest Cause of Food Price Increases

Hoosier Ag Today - The third Purdue Biofuels Symposium started yesterday, merging current research updates with policy and planning discussions for a bioeconomy. Last night’s guest speaker was Purdue ag economist Dr. Chris Hurt. He ensured the gathered representatives of industry, government and academia that, despite all the issues surrounding the biofuels industry, it should be full speed ahead with research and development.

US disputes IMF on food prices

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Bush administration on Wednesday was downplaying the role of biofuels production in rising food prices.

The debate involves questions of blame for rapidly inflating prices for staple crops that have led to famine and riots in many parts of the world.

Some economists and food scientists have argued that biofuel production should be scaled back because it is a major factor in rising food costs, particularly corn.