Farmers Are Committed To Meet Increased Demand For Corn

USDA's National Agricultural Statistics Service on March 31 released its 2010 Prospective Plantings report showing U.S. corn acreage is projected to be 88.8 million acres this year, up 3% from both 2009 and 2008. According to the U.S. Grains Council, this increase shows that U.S. farmers are committed to meet the increased demand for corn around the world.

"U.S. farmers step up to the plate every year," says Tim Burrack, a northeast Iowa farmer who is chairman of the Iowa Corn Promotion Board. "U.S. farmers use top-of-the-line technology and modern farming techniques to ensure a high quality product. We meet the domestic needs of the livestock industry and the ethanol industry and are also able to meet the needs of our trading partners and customers around the world."

Ron Gray, Illinois corn farmer and former president of the Illinois Corn Marketing Board, says "We continue to hear the Obama Administration's emphasis to expand U.S. ag exports. This acreage increase reflects America's capacity to meet our domestic market demand as well as sustain the U.S. export market share around the world at a competitive price. Exports are a crucial component to the U.S. economy. They are good for our economy, and they are good for the rest of the world."
A look at 2010 Planting Intentions through the ethanol lens

In addition to the Prospective Plantings Report issued March 31, USDA also released its Quarterly Grain Stocks Report. Both reports contain some interesting information as it pertains to ethanol, corn supplies and land use.

Based on surveys of farmers in early March, USDA expects 88.8 million acres of corn to be planted and total crop acreage in the U.S. to be unchanged in 2010. USDA also counts current corn stocks at 7.69 billion bushels, up 11% over last year at this time. However, as the information is not likely to shake the market too much, many of these statistics go unnoticed. Here are a couple of points:

* Acreage for all major crops hasn't increased—incremental needs for ethanol are being met through crop switching and not land use change.

* Corn in storage at this point in the year is at its highest level since 1987, a year in which an all-time record surplus of corn was recorded.

* The amount of corn currently stored on farms in the U.S. (4.6 billion bushels) is larger than the amount of corn that is expected to be processed into ethanol in the 2009/10 corn marketing year (4.2 billion bushels).

* At 7.7 billion bushels, the total amount of corn in storage in the U.S. (on farms and in off-farm locations) is larger than the total amounts of corn harvested annually as recently as the early 1990s.

"Obviously this all demonstrates quite convincingly that corn supplies are more than ample and will easily satisfy all demands with corn to spare," says Matt Hartwig, director of public affairs for the Renewable Fuels Association.

U.S. farmers can produce enough corn for both feed and fuel

The 2010 USDA planting forecast predicting a potential near-record corn crop shows U.S. farmers can produce more than enough corn to meet both domestic food, feed and fuel demands, as well as meet corn export demands, according to a press release from Growth Energy, the coalition of U.S. ethanol supporters.

The USDA planting intentions survey results, released March 31, predict that record-high surpluses of corn will continue to mount this year, despite an increase in demand for ethanol production.

"The latest crop forecasts prove that our farmers can produce more than enough grain to satisfy all the demand for food, fuel and feed in this country – and still meet the demand for corn exports. Improvements in farm technology and farm practices mean we'll be able to produce all the grain we need," says Growth Energy's chief executive, Tom Buis. "This is yet another example of dispelling the myths and lies perpetuated by those who tried to say there was a "food-versus-fuel" issue. There is no issue with food-versus-fuel."

Why replace addiction to foreign oil with use of foreign ethanol?

"These two USDA reports also illustrate why it makes no sense to rely on any foreign source of energy – whether it's Middle East oil or Brazilian sugarcane ethanol – when we have the ability to produce more than enough to meet all U.S. demand," says Buis. "Further, since Brazil has failed to produce enough sugarcane to meet its own domestic ethanol needs, it makes no sense to replace our addiction on foreign oil with an addiction to foreign ethanol."

He adds, "Our economy suffers every time there's an oil disruption and price shocks, and depending on foreign ethanol from countries that cannot produce enough to meet their own needs would do the same. It is time for America to invest in its own energy production, and invest in ethanol, America's fuel. That would create U.S. jobs, strengthen our national and economic security, and revitalize rural communities."

source: mobile.wallacesfarmer