Renewable fuel and wetlands were among the issues addressed at an Ada farm forum hosted by U.S. Rep. Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) April 10.
Some audience members complained that county Farm Service Agency and Natural Resources Conservation Service offices are now delineating wetlands on their property that had since 1985 been deemed insignificant or nonexistent.
Landowners have received topographical maps with blue dots indicating wetlands, which they said weren't indicated or present in previous maps.
Peterson said that situation has been reported to his field offices for several months, as well as of NRCS efforts to redetermine the presence of wetlands.
Peterson acknowledged the remapping is especially problematic for farmers who purchased additional property, as NRCS is now reviewing all of the land owned by farmers, not just the new purchases.
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"We're trying to get rid of those blue dots," informed Peterson. "We haven't' got rid of them yet, but I just want you to know NRCS thinks those blue dots are a good thing and are helping you."
Peterson recently had FAPRI -- a joint Iowa-Missouri universities' research think tank -- do a study comparing the costs of using corn and sugar to produce ethanol.
Peterson said the study revealed that using sugar is much higher than corn. FAPRI found it costs $1.09 to make a gallon of ethanol from corn, and $1.50 from sugar.
U.S. interest in using sugar as an ethanol feedstock was heightened last year during separate debate and passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement and a comprehensive U.S. energy program.
CAFTA will allow increased imports of sugar into the U.S. Grants, loans and tax incentives were provided in the energy package for using sugarcane as a feedstock in U.S. ethanol plants.
Brazil relies on sugarcane to manufacture ethanol, but their sugar sells for 6-7 cents a pound domestically, while the U.S. sugar price is 23-25 cents a pound.
"If we're going to take and make it into alcohol, it's going to take $1.50 a gallon subsidy from the government to make this work," stressed Peterson. "This program we're talking about will have more government money paid to farmers than it costs us to make it out of corn, which is a difficult thing to sell once people figure out what the economics are."
Peterson, along with U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) recently toured Brazil and visited a plant that both refines sugar and makes ethanol from sugarcane.
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Peterson said the plant makes sugar when that price is lucrative, and ethanol when that price is attractive. Raw sugarcane is burned to produce the electricity and steam needed to run the plant. Approximately 40 percent of the electricity generated is sold to the country's electrical grid.
"They have put together a good operation. In Brazil, 60 percent of the fuel they burn in their vehicles is alcohol," said Peterson.
Peterson, who is ranking member on the U.S. House Agriculture Committee, said it's unlikely Japan will resume purchases of U.S. beef in the near future.
He was critical of U.S. Department of Agriculture resistance to allowing U.S. companies to individually test their beef supplies for BSE, and thus assure Japanese customers the meat products are BSE-free.
Nick Sinner of the Red River Valley Sugarbeet Association said the organization is addressing with the Minnesota Department of Transportation a regulation raising the load limits capable of being hauled by farm trucks and trailers by adding one or more axles.
Sinner said MnDOT supports the allowance, but the proposal won't be acted on by the Minnesota Legislature until the 2007 session.
Sinner said studies have found there is less road damage if the trucks have more axles, even with higher load weights.
