News

What to do about tight corn supplies

The House Agriculture Livestock, Dairy and Poultry Subcommittee heard testimony regarding corn supplies on Wednesday. Representatives of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, National Pork Producers Council, National Chicken Council, National Turkey Federation and American Feed Industry Association told the subcommittee corn supplies are tight and there is a real possibility it will have to be rationed next year.

The livestock groups stated corn-for-feed use has held steady but ethanol use has increased substantially since 2005 due mainly to the Renewable Fuels Standard. They charge the amount of corn used for ethanol will surpass the amount used for livestock and poultry feed this year. The groups contend the RFS combined with ethanol subsidies and import tariffs have meant record-high corn prices and record-high cost of production for meat. They called for an adjustment to the RFS, the blenders tax credit be allowed to expire and allow farmers to pull some land out of the Conservation Reserve Program without penalty. AFIA president Joel Newman stated, “America’s farmers and ranchers and the industries which serve them can’t compete against federal biofuel subsidies, outdated land-use programs or unfettered institutional speculation in the futures markets.”

The American Coalition for Ethanol says ethanol is not to blame for high feed and food prices. ACE Executive Vice President Brian Jennings says the ethanol industry will produce nearly 4.5 million tons of distiller’s grains this year at a cost that is 75 to 80% of the cost of corn,” said Jennings. “Forward-thinking livestock producers have figured out that feed produced at ethanol plants can economically displace more than its weight in corn, actually reducing their feed costs.”