[ISUKappa]

Originally Posted by jon1856

One of the many reasons out wallets are hurting is that corn, and a few other products, are being taken out of the food chain and "used" for other reasons.

Sweet Jebus I hate the food/fuel debate. Yes, an increasing amount of corn is being used for biofuels, but is only a small part of the overall increase in costs. There is so much more to the process than OMGYOURETAKINGAWAYFOODFROMSTARVINGBABIESINAFRICA!

And right now, with all the rain in the Mid-West, less than 1/2 of the crop is even in the ground! Way behind planting season.
Add to that the drought in other parts of the world, we will be feeling even worse.

It's predicted this year will be worse than 1993 for flooding in many areas of the Midwest and that was a very bad year for floods.

Originally Posted by KSig RC

Never mind the hundreds of millions of dollars in subsidies paid to farmers, who are reaping record profits on their crops, as well - yet we vilify oil companies. It's unreal.

Rob, I really respect your opinion on most all subjects, and considering you actually live in the state, you have a better understanding of the situation than most. I understand the point you're making, but because of my personal and family attachments to agriculture, I can't agree with you 100%. I hate the fact that the vast majority of the subsidies are going to companies like ADM and Cargill, but even small farmers are benefiting from the recent prices.

Originally Posted by jon1856

True, it is unreal.
And that DC just is not able to/unwilling to change the Farm bills to correct that matter.
And remember not all farmers are equal. Some of those "farmers" are companies like AMD et al.

It will take a few years to actually tell, but I think the most recent farm bill (passed in May) made some decent strides in changing the way subsidies are paid out. And subsidies are only about 14% of the total farm bill. Subsidies and crop insurance together still make up just under 25% of the bill article from yahoo