OT oil shortage was: Celebration (Not intended to be off ensive, possible humor)

From: Richard Erlacher <edick_at_idcomm.com>
Date: Mon Jul 9 10:48:12 2001

That's the quandary! The price of grain produced for ethanol production has to
be high enough to exceed the subsidies farmers get for NOT planting. If they
plant, they have to pay for seed, fuel, fertilizer, labor, equipment
maintenance, weeding, harvesting, transportation, crop insurance, etc. If they
don't, they just get a check. The farmers are too close to the margin to take
any risks. The price supports are in the form of support for fallowing portions
of their land. That means they plant something else, or let the land rest.
Many plant soybeans or alfalfa because those legumes benefit the soil. Others
let the land sit and grow native grasses, which provides food and shelter for
native wildlife, mostly rodents and birds.

Here, in the U.S. BTW, we call the rape seed oil "canola oil" and it's been used
as a fuel in Europe. I don't know how it compares with petroleum when you
filter out the US GOV subsidies to the petrochemical industry and take out the
taxes in the fuel prices, though. It's not easy to make that
comparison/contrast. Maybe someone could share that information.

Dick

----- Original Message -----
From: "Chad Fernandez" <fernande_at_internet1.net>
To: <classiccmp_at_classiccmp.org>
Sent: Monday, July 09, 2001 9:25 AM
Subject: Re: OT oil shortage was: Celebration (Not intended to be off ensive,
possible humor)


> joe wrote:
> > There simply isn't
> > enough of it around. That's the same problem with alcohol, there isn't
> > enough for it to be a viable fuel source.
>
> How can you say that in a day that farmers get paid to plant less crops
> and the price of grain is low becasue of over supply?
>
> Chad Fernandez
> Michigan, USA
>
>
Received on Mon Jul 09 2001 - 10:48:12 BST