[00:00.100]From VOA Learning English,
[00:02.170]this is the Agriculture Report.
[00:05.520]Farmers in the United States are concerned
[00:08.790]about a possible decrease in the use of ethanol.
[00:12.700]Ethanol is a liquid fuel made from plants,
[00:16.250]such as corn.
[00:18.050]Last November,
[00:19.410]the Environmental Protection Agency
[00:21.860]proposed lowering the required amount of ethanol mixture
[00:25.970]in the nation's gasoline supply.
[00:28.880]The required use of ethanol in fuel began in 2007.
[00:33.710]The requirement was part of a law called
[00:36.800]the Energy Independence and Security Act.
[00:40.720]The law established a Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS.
[00:47.030]The RFS ordered fuel refineries
[00:50.840]to mix ethanol into their gasoline
[00:54.150]to cut the use of non-renewable fuels.
[00:57.720]The required amount was to increase over time.
[01:01.940]That requirement was good news for corn growers
[01:05.690]like Brian Duncan of Polo, Illinois.
[01:09.200]He thinks the proposed changes will hurt corn sales.
[01:13.680]He says that after a poor harvest in 2012,
[01:17.920]farmers enjoyed some of their best corn harvests in 2013.
[01:22.860]"As we look at the increased bushels,
[01:25.020]our inventories are gonna be worth $3 a bushel
[01:29.480]less than what they were valued at a year ago," said Duncan.
[01:32.130]The price of corn continues to drop,
[01:35.090]from a high of more than $7 a bushel.
[01:38.900]A bushel is equal to about 35.2 litre of dry goods.
[01:45.160]Corn prices rose in 2012,
[01:48.010]that year the corn crop suffered because of a lack of rain.
[01:52.920]Yet the demand for corn in ethanol production continued.
[01:57.630]"Four-dollar corn in this environment is tough enough,
[02:00.090]let alone $2.50 or $2.75 corn,
[02:03.640]which is what we could be looking at with another big crop,
[02:06.010]which is why we needed higher blend rates of ethanol," said Duncan.
[02:09.030]Craig Turner works for the website GrainAnalyst.com.
[02:13.940]He says the United States is using around 9%
[02:18.450]less gasoline than we used in 2008.
[02:21.860]"We can only use 10 percent of ethanol
[02:24.460]in a gallon of gasoline [before it harms some engines],
[02:26.820]and we basically hit that wall.
[02:28.230]So we can't produce any more ethanol;
[02:30.180]we have to stay the same,
[02:31.380]and if fuel efficiency even gets better,
[02:33.950]then the ethanol mandate could come down even further," said Turner.
[02:36.600]Craig Turner says less ethanol is needed
[02:39.460]as sales of energy-saving automobiles increase.
[02:43.640]These vehicles, such as hybrid or electric cars, use less fuel.
[02:50.240]"Every year we take older cars off the road
[02:53.390]and replace them with more fuel-efficient cars,
[02:55.300]we're going to be using less gasoline,
[02:56.910]so now that we've reached this peak in corn ethanol
[02:59.970]it's actually hurting farmers," said Turner.
[03:01.390]But farmers like Brian Duncan
[03:04.810]depended on selling their corn to ethanol producers.
[03:08.680]"We're happy for the market,
[03:10.980]but we have ever increasing yields,
[03:13.510]and ever increasing production capabilities, for ethanol,
[03:16.490]and we were kind of planning on the EPA following
[03:20.190]through with their increase and inclusion of green fuels," he said.
[03:23.190]Years ago, the weather was the biggest concern for farmers.
[03:28.400]But these days, they have more to be concerned about.
[03:32.010]These issues include changing ethanol requirements,
[03:36.020]falling corn prices, and the lack of action
[03:39.590]in the U.S. Congress on a new farm bill.
[03:42.910]And that's the Agriculture Report from VOA Learning English.