Soaring Corn Prices Hit US Cattle Farmers
US - America's drive for alternative sources of energy is proving an expensive challenge for cattle farmers who are struggling to pay for traditional feed as the price of corn soars.
25 September 2007
1 minute read
| File photo shows a farmer pulling a corn planter behind his tractor while planting corn... |
Corn has traditionally made up 40 percent of the diet of cattle at the Agri Beef Company in Idaho, but earlier this year the firm decided to cease relying on the grain after the price per bushel doubled.
The price rises have been driven by demand for homegrown corn to make ethanol, a biofuel whose synthesis has been sweetened by federal subsidies.
The ethanol boom has helped boost the bushel price for corn at a time when the US Department of Agriculture predicts more acres of corn than ever will be planted in such Corn Belt states as Illinois, and when USDA projections show commodities such as soybeans are poised to be displaced.
What is good news for grain farmers is grim news for cattle, hog and poultry producers, who buy the majority of the nation's feed corn and have counted on low prices to keep costs down from feedlot to food store.
They say the dual challenges of a surge in ethanol production and a strong export demand for corn means everyone from breeders along rural byways to consumers in urban centers will feel the pain.
Source: Yahoo!News
