A new study by the Global Development and Environment Institute at Tufts University in Maryland offers some interesting perspective on the issue of feed prices. In the report “Industrial Livestock Companies’ Gains from Low Feed Prices, (1997-2005)” the authors state that, “With rising demand for corn-based ethanol, representatives of many of the nation’s leading meat companies have expressed concern over the rising price of animal feed, which has increased significantly with the price increases for its two principal components, corn and soybeans.”
Feed prices have indeed increased significantly. As feed costs generally account for more than half of operating costs for industrial operations, higher prices can have an important impact on the bottom line for these companies. So too can low prices. Any discussion of today’s high prices should take into account the extent to which these same firms have benefited from many years of feed that was priced well below what it cost to produce. In the nine years that followed the passage of the 1996 Farm Bill, 1997-2005, corn was priced 23% below average production costs, while soybean prices were 15% below farmers’ costs. As a result, feed prices were an estimated 21% below production costs for poultry and 26% below costs for the hog industry. We estimate cumulative savings to the broiler chicken industry from below-cost feed in those years to be $11.25 billion, while industrial hog operations saved an estimated $8.5 billion. The leading firms gained a great deal during those years from U.S. agricultural policies that helped lower the prices for many agricultural commodities.
Not only can 
An aerial promotion campaign for ethanol in the Sunshine State took off this past weekend over the racetrack at Sebring, the theme parks in Orlando and the beaches of Fort Meyers.
Florida Commissioner of Agriculture Charles Bronson agrees. “As we develop cellulosic technology in Florida, I think that’s what we are going to be the most well-known for,” said Bronson. “We working with the University of Florida to find out which crops will be most beneficial to produce ethanol.”
DaimlerChrysler was the sponsor of a recent summit that looked to gain widespread acceptance of 20% biodiesel by the makers of engines and vehicles. The auto giant also asked the group to come up with a viable fuel standard for the B20 finished blend. 
The Dow Chemical Company has announced what it characterizes as a “significant milestone in its pursuit of sustainable chemistries.” 
Today is National Biodiesel Day. It is also the birthday of Rudolph Diesel, the inventor of the diesel engine. Coincedence? No… early versions of Diesel’s engine in the late 1800’s ran on peanut oil, and in 1912, he said “the use of vegetable oils for engine fuels may seem insignificant today, but such oils may become, in the course of time, as important as petroleum and the coal tar products of the present time.”
The National Biodiesel Board points out the increased demand for biodiesel today as the fruition of Diesel’s vision:
The 
The United Soybean Board released a statement today encouraging farmers to use more soy-based biodiesel in their farm equipment.
But the board is using more than celebrity endorsements, giving some facts it has gathered:
“It is fitting that the home of the ‘Field of Dreams’ is now going to be home to a state-of-the-art ethanol biorefinery. Across Iowa and around the country, farmers and rural communities are thriving because of tremendous economic opportunities ethanol production is creating. Whether its fields of corn today or fields of corn and switchgrass tomorrow, ethanol is helping turn rural America into a real life field of dreams.”