"Until the Texas governor can mitigate the impact of West Texas Crude, he should avoid destroying the economy of rural America"

WASHINGTON, May 19, 2008 – Keith Bolin, President of the American Corn Growers Association (ACGA) says that higher corn prices fall well short of mitigating higher oil prices.

“ America ’s corn farmers have been receiving better prices over the past year and a half.  That price increase has only marginally offset higher oil prices over the same period, but over the long haul, it now takes three times as many bushels of corn to pay for a barrel of west Texas Intermediate Crude as it did just 10 short years ago,” explained Bolin, a corn and hog producer in Bureau County, Ill. “There are still just as many gallons in a barrel of oil and the same number of pounds in a bushel of corn. They both still have the same energy values as they did in 1997 or in 1950.  It is very hard to reconcile why it takes thirteen times more corn to buy a barrel of oil than it did in 1950. Where is the equity?”

“It is imperative that our federal and state policy makers understand that if U.S. corn farmers were forced to rely upon the $1.93 per bushel safetynet contained in the recently passed farm bill that a total collapse of the U.S. farm economy would be inevitable at current oil prices,” warned Bolin. “This is one of many reasons we cannot allow any erosion of the nation’s renewable energy programs. A collapse of our fragile farm economy would not only spell the ruin of many farm families and rural communities, but would also choke the life out of the struggling national economy.”

“Given that our new farm bill provides a safetynet for corn farmers at the same level as did the 1996 farm bill, it is imperative that we retain the Renewable Fuel Standard (RFS) passed by Congress and signed by President Bush just five short months ago,” concluded Bolin. “This is why Texas Governor Rick Perry should withdraw his request to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to waive the RFS in his state.  Until the Texas governor can mitigate the impact of West Texas Crude, he should avoid destroying the economy of rural America .”

ACGA represents 14,000 members in 35 states. ACGA has standing bylaws that prohibit the organization from accepting funding from corporate agriculture. That means that ACGA represents farmers -- not seed, chemical, food processing, grain trading or crop insurance companies. For more information or if you would like to join ACGA or help support our efforts, please see www.acga.org .