Up to Speed

Farm Journal, May 16, 2008 by Roger Bernard

Bush acknowledges there have been some less-than-favorable impacts from corn-based ethanol. "The solution to the issue of corn- fed ethanol is cellulosic ethanol, which is a fancy word for saying we're going to make ethanol out of switchgrasses or wood chips. And we're spending a lot of money along those lines."

Given the views of those officials, it would be surprising to see EPA grant the Texas request. Meanwhile, Missouri has pondered removing its own requirement that motor fuels sold in the state contain 10% ethanol. No firm action had been taken at press time.

One thing is sure: As long as corn prices stay high and food prices rise, the focus on ethanol is not going away. You can e- mail Roger Bernard at rbernard@farmjournal.com.