jkoenig's blog

Farm Policy blog highlights current decisions from inside the government that will impact total acres available for crop production and raise risks for producers.  The policy decisions happen to be connect by the fact that money flows from the insurance program to the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) for the purpose of getting CRP acres back up to the maximum allowed by law, 32 million acres.  Apparently, because of the tactics being used, tempers are really flaring up. 

In today's DeMoines Register I read that congress is considering a 20% cut or 100% cut option for corn ethanol ... hmmm ... I wonder which they will pick?  I anticipate that the Gov sure needs to "save" the cash and they want to start the flow of import duties from the Brazilian ethanol into the federal coffers ASAP. 

Bloomberg highlights some industry concerns about too much rain in the Ivory Coast and the concern over Black Pod disease.  In addition today, I see more about the news of a speculative cash trader taking delivery of a record amount of cocoa beans. 

This is a revealing article that begins to connect all the dots I've anticipated and been speaking about since the beginning of the Obama administration.  The DeMoines Register highlights a study, attributed to the Brazilian sugarcane industry group, that essentially says the economic impact would be minimal if the ethanol subsidy would be eliminated.  Of course they are creating a manipulation to serve their own ends since they stand to gain a substantial sugar ethanol business that, depending on other factors, could displace a lot of corn ethanol.  Of course this makes

Today's Wall Street Journal features a piece on the late Russell Ackoff, a management philosopher who seemed communicate wisdom with wit that reminds me of Mark Twain.