You wouldn't think that getting paid a fair price for what you produce would be controversial. But in the world of agriculture - this concept is a lightening rod. And we're seeing a storm swirl materialize again around corn prices, as they rise in relation to ethanol demand in the U.S.
Recently, the president of the usually agribusiness-friendly National Corn Growers Association wrote a scathing attack against Tyson Foods, for the company's protests about ethanol - and the rising price of corn. In his commentary, Shed No Tears for Poor Tyson, NCGA CEO Rick Tollman called Tyson "irresponsible, misleading and self serving."
What was Tollman refferring to? Tyson has been warning in front of investors and Congress that corn prices, spurred by ethanol, are going to devastate the livestock industry. But hasn't Tyson Foods benefited from under-priced corn - corn priced so low it is often below the cost of farmers to produce it - over the last decade?
Turns out they did. Researchers at Tuft's Global Environment and Development Institute found that between 1997 and 2005, Tyson saved $2.59 billion from under-priced corn, which the company uses for animal feed.
As IATP President Jim Harkness wrote recently, there are many potential benefits to a fair price for corn, including fairer prices for all agriculture crops, less government subsidies, a reduction in agricultural export dumping, fewer industrial animal factories, and more competitive pricing for healthier food. These benefits become even greater if the ethanol economy can shift from corn-based to more perrennial grasses.
There is no question the agriculture economy is undergoing major changes due to demands from ethanol. And as IATP's Jim Kleinschmit has written, how the ethanol economy grows will have a lot to do with how sustainable it ultimately becomes. A good start as we move forward would be to take the controversy out of one of the most important benchmarks for sustainability - a fair price for farmers.
