FOOD &/or fuel
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Corn deterioration heralds huge yield downgrade
further sharp decline in the condition of US crops, which showed particular deterioration in the top corn and soybean growing state, has opened the door to a "massive yield downgrade" in a key report. The US Department of Agriculture, in a weekly crop condition report, cut by eight points to 40% the proportion of domestic corn in "good" or "excellent" condition as of Sunday, the lowest figure since the drought year of 1988. The proportion of soybeans rated good or excellent tumbled by five points to 40%, also a 24-year low, thanks to the hot and dry Midwest weather which has dashed hopes of bumper crops, and sent grain prices soaring.
A House of Representatives committee voted to let farmers grow genetically modified crops developed by Monsanto Co. ( MON ) and its competitors during legal appeals of the approval process. The U.S.
Monsanto Crop Bans by Courts Would Be Reversed in Bill
Poet LLC, a Sioux Falls, S.D. ethanol giant with several plants in Minnesota, today announced a joint venture with a Dutch biotech company to build a $250 million ethanol plant that it hopes will pave the way for the next generation of renewable biofuels. Poet, one of the world's largest ethanol makers, is partnering with Royal DSM to build a 25-million-gallon cellulosic ethanol plant in Emmetsburg, Iowa.
Poet gets new partner in $250 million cellulosic ethanol plant in Iowa
The Food vs. Fuel
Published time: January 13, 2012 18:21 Edited time: January 13, 2012 22:21 It seems the new American way involves a process that is not just from farm to food, but from farm to fuel. In the name of a cleaner environment ethanol has, over the years, become very political, being blamed for everything from the power of the state of Iowa to world hunger. It’s growth has been largely due to a policy by the U.S. government- a federal subsidy paid to oil companies to incentivize them to use corn ethanol in their gasoline that is then sold to consumers at gas stations across the country. It lasted 33 years and cost more than 20 billion dollars. Sen.
February 24, 2011 | 05:40 PM | Filed in: Biofuels Corn USDA
President Clinton urges balance in food-vs.-fuel debate | Biofuels, Corn, USDA | <br>The Hagstrom Report