Results of two recent studies indicate federal ethanol mandates have placed significant pressure on food prices with almost no impact on the price of gasoline. Dr. Keith Collins, former chief economist of the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and Dr. Thomas Elam, of FarmEcon LLC, submitted their new analyses to the Environmental Protection Agency on Monday, which was the end of EPA's public comment period on a request from Texas Gov. Rick Perry to partially suspend the Renewable Fuels Standard in light of serious economic harm caused by the current policy. The Collins report indicates that unless the RFS is suspended or revisited, U.S. grain stocks will fall even further as ethanol consumes a larger share of the dwindling corn supply. Based on results of his study, Elam concludes that "maintenance of the current RFS schedule in the face of a smaller 2008 corn crop will be devastating to meat, dairy and poultry producers." For more information, click here.

- from Drovers Alert