Just a follow-up to the story about biofuel firm Losonoco deciding not to build a canola oilseed crushing processing plant at the Port of Wilma in Whitman County.
According to the Associated Press, this decision was made because Palouse farmers are not going to grow canola when wheat recently traded around $20 a bushel.
Ironically, this surge in wheat prices is being cause by wheat growers in other states switching their crops over to corn to make ethanol.
2 comments:
I am surprised this company did not make a deal with some farmers about leasing the land to grow the rapeseed (canola). I know some farms around that are not growing anything and these farms are not on CRP (Conservation Reserve Program- government subsidizes not to grow).
This company probably did not want to get into the farming business, but it would have been cheaper to lease and grow rather than buy on the market. Of course I do not know the amount of rapeseed they need.
I remember over a decade ago at UofI, the AgSci dept. use to make their own Biodiesel with rapeseed. When you burn it, it smells like buttered popcorn.
My opinion is that all these bio-fuel comapanies are not in the fuel business, they are in the government subsidy business. They know they can't make money on bio-fuels but they see great potential for wealth from the government.
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