Dr. Robert Wisner, University Professor Emeritus at Iowa State University, has published an in depth report on the corn and soybean availability for biofuels in 2011.
Corn use for fuel ethanol production has become the second largest source of demand for the U.S. crop, with total corn use for this purpose expected to be only about 10% less than its use for livestock and poultry feeding in the year ahead.
He offers several points that those in animal production and crop production need to keep in mind:
Corn supplies will be tight and some rationing of demand likely will be needed in the year ahead.
With the very small reserve supplies of corn that are expected at the end of August 2011, more corn acres almost certainly will be needed next year to meet continuing demand growth.
In the year ahead, we anticipate further ethanol expansion, but at a much slower pace than in recent years as the industry approaches a “blend wall”.
With low stocks, corn prices have the potential to be very volatile.
