You are correct. I know an ethanol plant that opened paying $1.50/bushel for corn. The manager is a 35-year old truck driver with no experience who can’t fluently read a newspaper.
Ownership is now counting on a new influx of money from a second plant and a biodiesel facility to cover going so far in the hole on the first plant.
Farm community expected the plants to be co-op
owned and run as a means to aid energy crisis
and help sell a product that for years they
could sell for enough to pay for raising it.
Then a few folks went at it like the oil companies
and computor companies and others do things
and they have problems. And big oil don’t want the competition, don’t want an easing of supplies,
want shortages, and they are the ones that have to
do the 10% blend. I ain’t going to give my life for
clean air crap, but i do care about gas that makes
my engines run better, the 10% blend, and I really
care about adding to energy supplies to cut
the price of oil. I rent land that is now
going to be continuous corn, my choice.It is
close to their barns so it get the manure needed.
But the way fertilizer, fuel, equipment costs impacting
the guys farming it they are just making expenses.
Unless corn stays at it’s temporary spring high
as theirs is all sold a month ago.Ed