A year later, the dumpster fire still burns
Written by Chad Willis
Exactly one year ago today the Associated Press (AP) published a national attack on ethanol and corn farmers. It contained the same myths and tired talking points used forever by the oil industry and anti-ag activists, only this time they were packaged together and disguised as “journalism.” I actually checked this blog after I read the AP story to see if there was a Minnesota Corn Growers Association response. Sure enough, there was. They called the story a “dumpster fire.” There was even a picture of a dumpster, on fire. I thought it summarized the AP article perfectly.
The initial response to the story from farmers and homegrown biofuels supporters was commendable. However, the story was so bad, I wanted to make sure it remained on peoples’ radars, a year after it was published, as a reminder about why it’s so important for farmers and homegrown biofuels supporters to make their voices heard. That’s why I’m writing this today.
It’s easy to get angry when someone unfairly attacks something. After I read the AP ethanol article, I vented to family members and maybe even let loose with a few choice swear words. It’s also all-too-common to forget about whatever it was you were mad about, which in many cases is a good thing. However, my anger lingered regarding this AP ethanol story. I didn’t want it to be just another poorly reported story that got several facts wrong and the only consequence was people shrugging their shoulders and forgetting about it after the first wave of pushback.
Attack On Ethanol & Other False Claims
The story claimed that corn prices were about $7 per bushel for most of 2013. Anybody with a computer and the ability to conduct a Google search knew that was false. On the day the story was published, corn futures traded at $4.26 per bushel, the lowest since 2010. In case you’re wondering if ethanol helped push those prices back up over the last year like the story would have you believe, it hasn’t. Corn dipped under $3 per bushel in many areas. In areas north of my farm, it fell below $2 per bushel despite the fact that we’re producing more corn-based ethanol than ever before.
The AP reporters got another easy-to-find fact completely wrong when they claimed more corn has been used since 2010 to make ethanol instead of livestock feed. When a 56-pound bushel of corn is used to make ethanol, we get 2.8 gallons of fuel and 18 pounds of high-protein livestock feed co-products. In other words, we get food and fuel from corn, not one or the other. Apparently this fact didn’t fit the reporters’ pre-determined “ethanol is bad” narrative so it was omitted from the story.
Many of the story’s claims about farmers plowing up “virgin lands” to plant more corn and filling in wetlands were also way off-base.
I could keep citing factual errors from the story, but that was already done in-depth before the story was even published, and continued after it hit newspapers and the web.
I’m still mad about the story and it’s ok if you are too. Since its publication, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has proposed slashing the amount of ethanol blended in our gasoline supply, the price of corn has plummeted and food prices have increased.
If we just shrug our shoulders at every agenda-driven attack on ethanol and grumble (or swear) to ourselves, the landscape for homegrown biofuels and corn farming is only going to worsen. That’s why farmers were right to push back when the AP ethanol story was originally published and it’s why I’m writing this piece today. By re-visiting the story and citing a few of its many inaccuracies and click-baiting claims, hopefully it reminds us all why it’s important to not let dumbed-down “journalism” influence the national dialogue on renewable energy.
Hopefully it also reminds us that our jobs as farmers involve more than planting and harvesting. We need to make sure our voices are heard and push back when entities like the AP sneak up from behind and give us a hard shove.
If reading this makes you mad all over again about AP’s attack on ethanol, good! The ethanol economy was built from the ground up by individuals — mostly farmers – who had a vision for starting something that would contribute to cleaner air, add value to their crop and boost the rural economy. We were successful. And with success comes critics who want to tear down what you’ve helped build.
It took personal involvement and a strong voice at the local level to get where we are today with ethanol. If we want to preserve what we’ve already built, we need to get back to that same level of personal involvement. Our voices need to be even stronger than when we were building this thing, especially when attacks like the AP ethanol article are launched.
Corn farmers are a key component of America’s food and energy future. Let’s make sure the people we interact with on a daily basis know our story and get the facts about ethanol. Because if we don’t tell our own story, organizations like the AP will.
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Chad Willis is a corn and soybean farmer in Willmar, Minn.
