Agri Leader
Feds should temporarily lift ethanol requirement for corn
TBO.com
Published: October 24, 2012
It makes sense that Gov. Rick Scott has jumped into the fray on asking the federal government to lift requirements that a certain amount of ethanol be produced using corn and other feed that hits cattle ranchers hard in the wallet.Published: October 24, 2012
Scott has joined other governors from both parties calling for the federal government to lift these mandates concerning ethanol. The drought that hit the Midwest this summer has left corn supplies low, and 40 percent of the nation's corn is used for ethanol production.
The Obama administration has until Nov. 13 to decide, according to a News Service of Florida story. Corn prices have risen about 60 percent since June 15.
Governors in North Carolina, Arkansas, Maryland and Delaware have all asked for suspensions of the requirement, according to the story. They mainly raise chickens there, but Florida's beef industry is worth more than $4 billion and important here in Central Florida.
It's understandable why there are regulations on ethanol production. The only way our country will ever be energy independent is if we use biofuel to cut back on oil imports. There's no denying, though, that using corn for this purpose is a bad idea. It's not an efficient crop for making biofuel and the need for food products is critical.
The biofuel plants slated for our area will use cane or some kind of plant that doesn't require irrigation and that the entire plant can be used, as opposed to corn. Our biofuel mandates should be filled with nonfood crops that are more environmentally sound and less harmful to our food supply.
We hope the Obama administration has the good sense to lift this requirement during this drought-induced crisis. And while doing that, they should require that crops being grown to produce ethanol do not affect our corn harvests.