white shadow - 4/8/2026 08:37 ...California today is $5.93/gallon. California has done nothing but attack corn ethanol and the American farmer. Gas in South Dakota is $3.56. The difference isn't all tax--- it is ethanol... ...The European Union when they aren't stabbing us in the back are destroying their own agriculture by regulation and ideology of domestic production only---no threat there.... It's not that simple: 1) California gas prices California also has some unique geographic and weather problems that cause smog which used to be a lot worse before the switch to cleaner gas and cars despite more traffic and miles driven. It's not that simple as more ethanol. 2) European attitudes on agricultural imports - The US could put almost every farmer in Europe out of business with our lower cost exports. Europeans however remember being hungry during WW2. Being hungry sticks in your memory for generations, similar to the way being poor in the Depression of the 1930s stuck with my parents generation. Europe decided after WW2 to keep at least a majority of their domestic food production from being put out of business by imports..They established the CAP (Common Ag Program) to not let their farms disappear and keep the ability to feed themselves as well as maintain rural areas which they value. They are willing to pay higher food prices to maintain domestic food production and the rural landscape and economy. As I recall from working there years ago, at the time the average family in France and other European countries paid over 25% of their income on food compared to around 10% in the USA. But again it's not that simple. Healthcare costs are lower in Europe and other factors change the math. Tourists love to visit the French countryside. I don't think there are a lot of tourists visiting section-sized cornfields in the US. --------------------------------- In our country, government programs centered on corn and beans have encouraged excess corn production and in many areas contributed to high beef prices by transitioning much pasture and hay ground to corn production. Same with high land prices in many areas. The only way to make any return on current farm land prices is to tear out fences and tree lines, plow up the grass and plant wall to wall, government insured corn. Got more ground than you can get planted timely some years? No problem, just claim prevent plant. An election coming up? Should be a nice deficiency check in the mail soon... The fact is we grow more corn than we need. We have less beef than we need. A free economy would suggest a shift. More ethanol in gasoline is not the long term solution. jmho and experience.
Edited by Jim 4/8/2026 11:11
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why are we not telling the story of the power of the American farmer....
