Perry wants a “level playing field” & an end to ethanol mandate (audio)

Radio Iowa ^ | August 28, 2011 | O. Kay Henderson

[Cincinatus' Wife]

Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry says it’s time for the federal government to quit picking winners and losers, and that includes federal efforts to boost the ethanol industry.

Perry, the governor of oil-rich Texas, opposes the federal “renewable fuels standard” which requires a certain amount of corn-based ethanol be produced in the U.S. each year.

“I’d like to see a level playing field for all of the energy producers in this country,” Perry told reporters in Iowa tonight.

Iowa corn farmers support the federal rule which requires an increasing volume of ethanol be produced through 2015. Perry told reporters tonight that he supports “all of the sources of energy” that are out there, including so-called biofuels like ethanol, but he’s against the federal government requiring a certain amount of ethanol be produced each year.

“We don’t need to have government picking winners and losers in this business,” Perry said during a news conference in Des Moines. “Let the folks get out there with the regulations off their back. I have a good idea that the farmers in Iowa can compete with anybody in the world.”

Perry’s view on ethanol is echoed by many “Tea Party” activists who have complained about tax breaks for ethanol and other industries and who have harshly criticized federal bail-outs for Wall Street and American automakers. Ethanol producers say they’re willing to give up their federal subsidies if federal tax advantages for the oil industry are abolished, too.

[Clara Lou]

That’s not “food”! =)

[gov_bean_ counter]

“We don’t need to have government picking winners and losers in this business,”

But it is OK for him to do in Texas...

Tagline.

[9YearLurker]

Ha! He’s a target rich environment and if Gov. Palin can’t get past him she’ll have run a worse campaign than I’m expecting.

[gov_bean_ counter]

Actually #3 isn’t a decision point as much as it is an unintended consequence...

[ken5050]

I’ve tasted really, REALLY smooth moonshine TWICE..just a few sips both times...it’s “mother’s milk” f’sure...

[ResponseAbility]

What is Dent Corn?

Dent corn is a variety of corn which is higher in starch and lower in sugar than table corn, the type of corn eaten as a vegetable. There are a wide range of uses for dent corn, which is one of the most cultivated crops around the world. In addition to being used as a source of food for humans, dent corn provides corn starch and other byproducts which can be processed into an assortment of things from biodegradable plastics to fuels. Some people also call dent corn “field corn” to distinguish it from table corn.

The origins of corn as a crop date back to early Mesoamerican cultures, which first tamed the wild relatives of corn to turn them into a usable food crop. In order to be edible, field corn must be processed, typically through grinding it into a flour or soaking it in lye or other substances to soften the outer shell of the corn, as is the case in corn masa. Soaking the corn in lye also frees the niacin bound up in the kernels, making the dent corn more nutritious. Other varieties of corn include popcorn, flour corn, sweet corn, and waxy corn.

The stalks of dent corn usually grow larger than the corn’s sweeter cousin, and the individual kernels have distinctive dents along their sides which led to the common name. The corn is often dried for processing, and is available for sale in a number of different formats including whole cobs, individual kernels, and ground flours. The corn may also be further refined to extract an assortment of useful compounds.

Animal fodder often includes dent corn as a source of nutrition, and since the corn grows cheaply and readily, it is often used to bulk up fodder for feedlot raising. Since the firm kernel corn has a variety of uses, it is very important economically, especially in some regions of the United States. It grows best in regions with long, warm summers which allow the ears of corn to fully mature, and when processed properly dent corn can be stored for up to two years.

Consumers rarely interact directly with whole kernels of dent corn, but they indirectly consume or handle many products of the corn every day. Most meats are produced from animals fed on it, many cosmetics include dent corn byproducts, and an assortment of foods ranging from corn syrup to starches use dent corn as a constituent ingredient.

[ken5050]

Here's an argument in favor of ethanol subsidies..though admittedly somewhat convoluted...

For decades, screwy farm programs have been paying farmers hundreds of BILLIONS for NOT growing stuff. At least with ethanol, they're actually gowing SOMETHING. Isn't this an improvement of sorts?

[Rannug]

I don’t think you want ethanol type field corn on your plate. :-)

[9YearLurker]

Yeah, and #1 is more of a tactic in support of #2.

[gov_bean_ counter]

LOL!

[Cincinatus' Wife]

“field corn”

That's what I knew it as, growing up in Wisconsin.

[SunkenCiv]

Wow, a Texas governor wants that? Stop the presses. I know — he should advocate the abolition of Medicare and Social Security! That’ll solidify his older constituency.

[Polybius]

I don’t think you want ethanol type field corn on your plate. :-)

Actually, every time you have any processed food that says "corn syrup" or "fructose" on the ingredients label, you have field corn on your plate or in your glass.

The point is that, as more acreage is devoted to field corn for the gas tank, less acreage is devoted to any crop for the dinner plate and food prices at Safeway and Publix shoot through the roof.

Ethanol Blamed for Record Food Prices: .... Federal ethanol mandates, which have led to a steady increase in the production of ethanol made from corn, are a major reason why food prices worldwide have reached record levels in the past several months, according to some economists.

Ethanol pumping up food prices

[SunkenCiv]

• Perry calls Social Security 'monstrous lie'
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• Rick Perry Wanted Bi-National Health Insurance With Mexico
• Tom Tancredo: Rick Perry not a true conservative
• Governor Palin Retweets Article Rick Perry Almost Tripled Texas' Total Debt
• What Rick Perry Can Teach the GOP About Immigration
• Ten things about Rick Perry that may worry some conservatives
• Rick Perry Stands By Texas DREAM Act
• Why I Support the Texas DREAM Act
• Rick Perry shoots down Arizona's harsh immigration law (April 2010)
• In-State Tuition for Illegals?[Texas]
• Perry says he supports in-state tuition for illegal immigrants(R - Gov Texas)

[SunkenCiv]

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(added Friday, July 15, 2011)

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Pat Buchanan supports ethanol subsidies for energy independence -- stated his "support [for] ethanol production as integral to a policy of national energy independence" and cited an Iowa ethanol production facility he recently visited as "an example of American efficiency." [November 18, 1999 -- Source: Sustainable Energy Coalition, media backgrounder #2]

Pat Buchanan supports developing Caspian pipelines -- an end to draw-downs of the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and topping it off, rapid development of the oil resources of Russia, the Caspian, and Central Asia, multiplication of pipelines from the Caspian and the Gulf [October 9, 1999 -- Source: A Republic, not an Empire, p. 381]

Pat Buchanan supports study of the potential of an oil import fee to stimulate conservation and new drilling, and to make clean coal and natural gas more competitive [October 9, 1999 -- Source: A Republic, not an Empire, p. 381]

Pat Buchanan opposes CAFE standards of 45 mpg for new cars and 35 mpg for new light trucks by 2005 [October 4, 1999 -- Source: Sustainable Energy Coalition backgrounder #3]

[SunkenCiv]

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(added Saturday, June 4, 2011)

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It's the Obamacare, stupid! One-half gallon of oil in the form of pesticides per bushel of corn would cost $2 to $3 per bushel. If this were true -- and it clearly isn't -- it should be enough to illustrate to literally anyone that the price of petroleum is quite literally the ONLY thing driving corn prices. And this idiotic piece of agitprop -- from a hydrogen "energy" advocacy site -- also shows the guy in the encounter suit spraying chemical fertilizer, a sight that I've never been privileged to see, what with me *growing up on a farm*. The Bum Rap on Biofuels [2008] Campaign to vilify ethanol revealed [2008] Oil Price Pressure Driving Global Switch to Biofuels [2006]

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[dennisw]

When Rick Perry gets in he needs to fire every last EPA parasite and bulldoze their office buildings. I am sick and tired of these eco-fanatics ruining our domestic oil/gas/electricity production. Especially over some CO2 emissions due to the global warming hoax.

[Sudetenland]

"Pat Buchanan supports ethanol subsidies for energy independence -- stated his "support [for] ethanol production as integral to a policy of national energy independence" and cited an Iowa ethanol production facility he recently visited as "an example of American efficiency." [November 18, 1999 -- Source: Sustainable Energy Coalition, media backgrounder #2] "

Pat Buchanan is an idiot. You can't reach a state of "energy independence" by using a fuel that consumes more energy to produce it than it generates. Ethanol is a net negative energy source.

[CharlesWayneCT]

That’s a gutsy thing to say in Iowa. It could cost him any chance of winning the Iowa caucuses. It’s the right thing, of course, and every tea party candidate should go to Iowa and repeat the same thing.