Iowa Cattle Producers Favor Increased Ethanol

The Iowa EthanolRFA noted in their weekly newsletter that not all agriculture groups agree on the causes of rising food prices (you'll recall that we've pointed out from many reliable sources that energy costs are the main culprit). The following response from the President of the Iowa Cattlemen’s Association to the Editors of the Des Moines Register appeared in the IowaRFA site:

I read with interest the article “New Energy Plan’s Surprising Impact on Producers”…. And found several issues I’d like to address.

The Iowa Cattlemen’s Association policy is opposed to the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association stance on ethanol. Iowa cattle producers favor increased ethanol production and support the blender’s credit. Although this has created higher corn prices, we are able to utilize the co-products thus giving those of us in the Midwest a huge advantage over the southwestern cattle feeders. This in turn will help bring cattle feeding and its economic benefits back to Iowa.

When the Register listed the food items which will increase in cost because of higher corn prices, the article failed to address that actually only fractions of that cost are from the raw material (corn). In reality much of the additional cost of consumer goods today, not only food, comes in the form of higher production and transportation costs because of high fuel prices.

If fuel prices were to drop, the net result would far out weigh the minimal affect of $4.00 corn!

Kevin Carstensen
President,
Iowa Cattlemen’s Association

Source: Iowa EnthanolRFA (PDF file)


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