The Ethanol Decade: An Expansion of U.S. Corn Production, 2000-09

22 Pages Posted: 18 Aug 2012

See all articles by Steve Wallander

Steve Wallander

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) - Economic Research Service (ERS)

Roger Claassen

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) - Economic Research Service (ERS)

Cynthia Nickerson

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) - Economic Research Service (ERS)

Date Written: August 1, 2011

Abstract

The recent 9-billion-gallon increase in corn-based ethanol production, which resulted from a combination of rising gasoline prices and a suite of Federal bioenergy policies, provides evidence of how farmers altered their land-use decisions in response to increased demand for corn. As some forecasts had suggested, corn acreage increased mostly on farms that previously specialized in soybeans. Other farms, however, offset this shift by expanding soybean production. Farm-level data reveal that the simultaneous net expansion of corn and soybean acreage resulted from a reduction in cotton acreage, a shift from uncultivated hay to cropland, and the expansion of double cropping (consecutively producing two crops of either like or unlike commodities on the same land within the same year).

Keywords: Agricultural Resource Management Survey (ARMS), bioenergy, ethanol, indirect effects, land use, corn production, environmental impacts

Suggested Citation

Wallander, Steve and Claassen, Roger and Nickerson, Cynthia, The Ethanol Decade: An Expansion of U.S. Corn Production, 2000-09 (August 1, 2011). USDA-ERS Economic Information Bulletin No. 79, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2131399 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2131399

Steve Wallander (Contact Author)

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) - Economic Research Service (ERS) ( email )

355 E Street, SW
Washington, DC 20024-3221
United States
(202) 694-5546 (Phone)

Roger Claassen

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) - Economic Research Service (ERS) ( email )

355 E Street, SW
Washington, DC 20024-3221
United States
202-694-5473 (Phone)

Cynthia Nickerson

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) - Economic Research Service (ERS) ( email )

355 E Street, SW
Washington, DC 20024-3221
United States
202-694-5626 (Phone)

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