Talking about...Feed, Checkoff funds, Ethanol

"It is possible that some pet food manufacturers who have heard of the depletion of feed sources in Utah because of drought and fire may offer their scrap material to Utah ranchers. Both buyers and sellers must know that any pet food containing cattle or other ruminant material cannot be fed to other cattle."
(Source: Billings Gazette, December 30, 2007)
Earl Rogers, Utah State Veterinarian, warning cattlemen about the dangers of taking shortcuts in a feed-starved section of the country.
>PS: taking shortcuts almost always leads you down the wrong path.

"To go out there and say that you want to double the checkoff with a 100 percent increase and it's gonna happen all at once, I'm not sure what producers' reactions would be. I personally would have reservations."
(Source: Agri News, December 29, 2007)
Tom Pyfferoen, president of Minnesota State Cattlemen's Association, suggesting a 100% increase in the checkoff might be a hard sell.
>PS: Yeah, it’s going to take more money to get the job done, but catching up with 20 years of financial neglect all in one day?

"At the start of 2006, the ethanol industry had a production capacity of 4.3 billion gallons, and by the end of 2008, that could be up to 13.4 billion. We had excess world (crop) production capacity that we could draw on at first. That is gone, and ethanol and other biofuels are growing by leaps and bounds."
(Source: USAToday, December 31, 2007)
Chris Hurt, Purdue University agricultural economist, saying that with production ramping up so quickly, the ethanol industry might not be able to acquire enough corn from the 2008 crop to run at full capacity.
>PS: He’s talking about Renewable Fuels Association Bob Dineen’s hubris-laden claim that "We're already producing 7 billion gallons today, with another 7 billion (in capacity) that is under construction and will be online shortly. There's little question we'll be able to meet the needs."
>PPS: Uhhhh, Bob, at what cost? It will undeniably become a food vs fuel problem at that stage of the game.

"This year's dead zone (the lifeless area in the Gulf of Mexico caused by pollutants ‘running off’ farm lands upstream of the Mississippi river) is the third highest on record, and I think we're already seeing an impact from increased ethanol use."
(Source: Houston Chronicle, December 31, 2007)
Donald Scavia, a University of Michigan professor who studies farm practices and hypoxia, or low-oxygen water.
>PS: It’s the law of unintended consequences. You neve know what's going to happen 'down stream.'

"Livestock producers in all segments of the industry are now entering into a new era, where they will see increased volatility and much higher prices for livestock feed."
(Source: Rapid City Journal, December 30, 2007)
Scott Jones, president of the South Dakota Cattlemen's Association, saying members of SDCA are expressing concern about the energy bill's requirement for more corn-based ethanol.
>PS: Get used to a whole new set of rules in farming. Risks will rise, so will rewards. Agriculture was never a game for the faint-of-heart.