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Lester Brown, founder of the Earth Policy Institute, held a press conference with reporters Thursday to warn that the government is underestimating the amount of corn that will be needed for fuel by next year.

According to the Associated Press, Brown says nearly twice as much corn as the government has estimated will be needed from the 2008 harvest to feed the ethanol plants that will be online by then. He blamed the lag on the failure of industry trade groups to keep up with development of ethanol plants.

According to the Earth Policy Institute’s data, U.S. ethanol distilleries now online or in the works will pull an estimated 139 million tons – or 5.5 billion bushels – of corn from the 2008 corn harvest to produce fuel for automobiles.

The government in a February report estimated ethanol plants would use about 60 million tons – or 2.4 billion bushels of corn.

USDA’s chief economist is skeptical about the institute’s numbers and the Renewable Fuels Association questions the criteria used by Earth Policy Institute, saying some plants in planning stages included in the group’s estimates may never be built. Both say that the rapid expansion in the industry is making it more difficult to make even short term projections.

Brown’s answer is for the U.S. government to declare a moratorium on the construction of new ethanol plants until the impact of increased corn usage can be determined.

Read the full story from AP.

Total U.S. ethanol production for 2006 is expected to be almost 5 billion gallons, but it will be a while yet before the official numbers are calculated.

The latest figures from the Energy Information Administration are for October at 333,000 barrels per day (b/d), which is equal to September’s record production.

According to the Renewable Fuels Association, the U.S. ethanol industry was averaging 310,000 b/d of production through October, an annualized volume of 4.75 billion gallons. Industry estimates show ethanol production reaching 4.9 billion gallons for the year, an increase of more than 25 percent from 2005.

Read more from RFA.

The first Choice Destination for 2007 on “Discover Wisconsin” isn’t so much a destination as a way of getting there.

The latest episode of the state’s tourism television show focuses on Wisconsin’s role in the domestic fuels industry, specifically E85. According to the show’s website:

With car manufacturers like GM offering a variety of E85-friendly vehicles, the new fuel is helping residents get to their favorite Wisconsin drive-to destinations with more money in their pockets. E85 is often cheaper than traditional gasoline – and most drivers don’t see a noticeable difference in gas mileage. In addition, we’ll take a look at some General Motors E85/flex-fuel vehicles, and dispel some myths associated with the fuel. We’ll tour the Chevy plant in Janesville to learn about what makes their vehicles different from regular gasoline vehicles. Finally, we’ll unveil a very special way that we at Discover Wisconsin are committed to the use of E85 fuel.

“Live Green – E85” will air January 6 and 7 on stations in and around Wisconsin.

High corn prices driven by increased demand for ethanol are causing farmers of various commodities to seriously consider switching crops for 2007.

Farm Futures reports that Nebraska farmers are considering planting corn in place of wheat they’ve already sowed.

With wheat futures high, University of Nebraska-Lincoln Extension cropping systems specialist Bob Klein says Nebraska producers planted probably 15% more wheat this fall. Now, with corn prices high, Klein says producers may kill off some of that wheat with herbicide to make way for corn in the spring.

Further to the west, some cotton and silage producers are considering a switch, according to the Western Farm Press.

Farmers in California and Arizona with parched wallets are eyeing a dangling carrot that could lead to improved grower incomes for those willing to produce specific feed grains to meet the insatiable needs of the nation’s exploding ethanol industry.

In the West, grower opportunities range from planting flexible corn hybrids that yield high quality silage for dairies as well as corn for ethanol – to foregoing cotton production for corn and grain sorghum.