Corn Commentary

Corn Crop Comments

Interesting article in the Houston Chronicle over the weekend headlines a positive – “Corn crop helps ethanol industry argue its case” – but by the end leaves the reader with the impression that the near-record crop forecast this year could be just a fluke.

“Critics caution against reading too much into one good crop year and assuming corn yields can keep rising as much as some project,” the article reads, quoting ethanol critic Tom Elam as saying the weather in “almost all of the Corn Belt” was “almost perfect” this year – which is “highly unusual.”

I am sure that there are many farmers in the Corn Belt who had to deal with a very wet spring and delayed planting who would argue that this year’s weather was “almost perfect.”

The article goes on to note that the “corn ethanol industry often cites projections by seed producers that suggest the U.S. could double current corn yields within 20 years. But critics say such projections don’t take into account risk factors like a drought that can bring wide swings in corn production from year to year.”

The last time we had a significant drop in corn production due to weather was 1995. The improvements in corn hybrids for drought tolerance, insect and disease resistance, not to mention higher yields have all contributed to make the crop less likely to experience “wide swings” in production. This is just a fact. It doesn’t mean there can’t or won’t be lower production in the future, it just means that seed producers are providing growers with the ability to produce a much more consistent crop despite the risk factors.

The comments attached to this article indicate that the corn ethanol industry still has a long way to go to deal with the misinformation out there. The same tired arguments are brought up – from food versus fuel to ethanol taking more energy to produce than it makes. The negative comments, including many about HFCS, more than outweigh the positives.

It may not seem like much, but making comments on articles like these does make a difference. It is something that any farmer with a computer can do. It’s easier than writing a letter to the editor and reaches more people in less time and who knows? You might just educate someone.