Ethanol Boosts Bottom Line for Farmers
According to a Reuters poll done this week
U.S. farmers overwhelmingly said they have benefited from the demand for corn to produce ethanol, with 71 percent of those surveyed saying the renewable fuel has helped boost their bottom line.
The poll also showed that 90 percent of those farmers said they would not reduce their corn plantings this year because of an increased supply of ethanol in the Midwest.
In addition, 54 percent of farmers were interested in growing a biomass crop. They were willing to embrace the crop because it required less management than traditional crops while allowing them to diversify their plantings.
The survey was done at the American Farm Bureau Federation‘s annual meeting in New Orleans, where the 686 farmers sampled were responding voluntarily from about 5,000 in attendance.