The Doctor
07-15-2007, 09:06 AM
Corn on corn.
that's the phrase used to replace what was a standard--corn on beans. The rotation of crops ensured that the soil Nitrogen levels were replenished annually, as much as could be expected, since beans are legumes, and recharge the soil N levels naturally.
Now that ethanol is increasing the demand for corn, fertilizers will be used to make up the difference.
Corn is already one of the worst cash crops for its rate of soil erosion over the growing season. Now we have an energy crisis to satisfy.
What this means is increased runoff of soil, and increased amounts of the fertilizers contaminating the rivers. Iowa was the worst last year for the fertilizers in the U.S. This means that coming soon to a Gulf of Mexico near you, even worse than before...
Just look at what used to be the Chesapeake Bay. It's a wasteland anymore. It's the dirty little secret of large-scale farming, and with energy the hot-button that it is, this issue is not going away any time soon.
So the end result will be an increase in the costs associated with the fish/environmental side of the corn, as well as increased commodity prices there, and no significant decrease in the cost of energy (gasoline)--
the take home message--better get skilled, and more skilled if you want to stay ahead of the cost of inflation, and ethanol is not going to make it better
Have a nice day.
that's the phrase used to replace what was a standard--corn on beans. The rotation of crops ensured that the soil Nitrogen levels were replenished annually, as much as could be expected, since beans are legumes, and recharge the soil N levels naturally.
Now that ethanol is increasing the demand for corn, fertilizers will be used to make up the difference.
Corn is already one of the worst cash crops for its rate of soil erosion over the growing season. Now we have an energy crisis to satisfy.
What this means is increased runoff of soil, and increased amounts of the fertilizers contaminating the rivers. Iowa was the worst last year for the fertilizers in the U.S. This means that coming soon to a Gulf of Mexico near you, even worse than before...
Just look at what used to be the Chesapeake Bay. It's a wasteland anymore. It's the dirty little secret of large-scale farming, and with energy the hot-button that it is, this issue is not going away any time soon.
So the end result will be an increase in the costs associated with the fish/environmental side of the corn, as well as increased commodity prices there, and no significant decrease in the cost of energy (gasoline)--
the take home message--better get skilled, and more skilled if you want to stay ahead of the cost of inflation, and ethanol is not going to make it better
Have a nice day.