Corn Commentary

World Food Conference to Focus on Biotech and Biofuels

Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer will present a three pronged strategy to deal with rising food prices, climate change and energy security when he travels to Rome next week for the conference on World Food Security being held by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations.

Schafer says the strategy is basically to “provide food and other support to people who are hungry now, direct development assistance to those countries best able to rapidly increase the production of key food staples that can help feed the hungry, and encourage action to address multilateral and country-specific policies that prevent access to food and the technologies that produce food.”

To try and encourage greater use of biotechnology, Schafer and Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance Henrietta Fore will host a side event focused on new technologies to showcase developing countries that have moved forward with public investment in adoption of bioengineered products. “Bioengineered crops are one of many situations that need to take place for increasing yields around the country if we’re going to meet the demands of increased consumption,” Schafer says.

Biofuels will most definitely be on the plate at the World Food conference and Schafer is prepared to defend US ethanol production policy. “I would point out that in the United States and in other countries as well, all ethanol production specifically has come from increased yields in the corn crops,” Schafer said. “Our export markets are up in corn out of the United States. The yield increases are taking care of it, and certainly the benefits derived are much more than the 2 to 3 percent that is contributing to the rising inflation in food costs internationally. We think it’s an important initiative, and while people do have some concern I think we can point out the facts here, not the emotions but the facts, that this is not distorting the global price of food. And it’s an important direction we need to go.”

The conference will be held June 3-5.

Schafer Explains Bush Comments

Comments by President Bush this week that corn prices are affecting food prices required some explanation after the fact by Secretary of Agriculture Ed Schafer.

During a speech this week at the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference 2008, Bush said, “Corn ethanol holds a lot of promise, but there’s a lot of challenges. If you’re a hog-raiser in the United States, you’re beginning to worry about the cost of corn to feed your animals. I’m beginning to hear complaints from our cattlemen about the high price of corn. The high price of corn is beginning to affect the price of food.”

Talking to Brownfield Network reporter Peter Shinn afterward, Schafer said there is no inconsistency between the President’s remarks about the impact of corn demand from the ethanol industry on food prices and the long-held USDA position that higher energy prices play a greater role in food price inflation.

“Well, I think the President stated an obvious fact that everybody knows today that food prices are being challenged by fuel prices,” Schafer said. “But really, this is a consistent administrative policy and direction, and I was pleased the President pointed out the fact that, though corn prices are under pressure right now, the pathway is to cellulosic ethanol.”

Schafer addressed WIREC on Tuesday and hosted a ministerial luncheon at the event Wednesday. WIREC 2008 featured representatives from over 100 countries with attendance estimated at seven to eight thousand. The event wrapped up Thursday.

Read the Brownfield story here.

Schafer Addresses Feed Costs For Cattle Producers

New Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer made his first major public policy speech today at the Cattle Industry Convention in Reno, NV where high feed costs are a major topic of conversation.

Schafer addressed the issue in his remarks, stressing that the situation is short term.

“For today and tomorrow the growing demand for ethanol is likely going to mean that corn prices will stay higher than you want them to be,” Schafer said. But he believes the energy bill outlines a plan to move the industry rapidly toward cellulosic ethanol production which should ultimately help ease feed price pressure.

“As that technology develops and as we move into non-feed sources to generate our energy needs, it will stop distorting the prices of your feed,” Schafer told the cattle producers.

You can listen to Secretary Schafer’s comments here: