Originally Posted By: Arney
A lot of soybean farmers--and probably other kinds of farmers--have switched to growing corn-for-ethanol instead because when you include all the various subsidies and tax incentives as well as the current high price for corn, it's more lucrative than growing soybeans.

Didn't realize until today that the corn-ethanol subsidies were voted away last week by the Senate. That's a surprise since they voted earlier in the year to extend those same subsidies.

From the Economist magazine:
Quote:
IN A surprise U-turn, members of the United States Senate voted 73-27 last week to abolish a 45-cents-a-gallon subsidy for ethanol from corn (ie, maize) that is used for blending with petrol. They also voted to kill the 54-cents-a-gallon import duty on ethanol from abroad. This is the first time in over three decades that the Senate has challenged the sacrosanct $6 billion-a-year tax break for American corn-growers and ethanol producers.