Released: April 30, 2008

Siphoning off corn to fuel our cars

Source: Steven Mufson, Washington Post (Free Registration)

Erwin Johnson picks up a clump of the dark, rich soil that he has farmed for 35 years, like his father and grandfather before him. In a few months, this flat expanse of northern Iowa will be crowded with corn ready to be trucked to market.

A year ago, that market got a little closer—and a lot better. Instead of sending his corn to a barge company to be shipped down the Mississippi River for export, Johnson now loads it into an open truck and sends it two miles up the gravel road to a hulking new ethanol distillery that he can see from his field. The plant is paying him $5.50 or more a bushel, more than twice as much as Johnson could get just a couple of years ago.

“This is a fantastic time to be farming,” Johnson says. “I’m 65, but I can’t quit now.” Across the country, ethanol plants are swallowing more and more of the nation’s corn crop. 

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