The ethanol industry, which includes Kansas corn and sorghum growers, got a boost today when EPA announced approval of a 15% blend of ethanol for cars 2001 and newer, about 62% of the American passenger fleet. It's a great start to getting more ethanol and less Middle Eastern oil in our fuel supply and to keeping our dollars in America instead of shipping them to Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Now, on to blender pumps, more flex fuel vehicles and E-85 for…

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Well, the reprieve for getting crops harvested proved to be short-lived. We had a few days of nice weather, then a whale of a whammy this week. The weird thing for south-central Kansas is that three days of rain, cloudy weather and downright dreary conditions STILL did not produce a freeze OR a killing frost. So those folks hoping for frozen ground to get into corn and milo fields are out of luck. And the green crops are still green, which just might be a blessing. Producers fighting…

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The National Cattleman's Beef Association says it supports "second generation" ethanol, which does not use corn or other 'feed and food' products.   Ethanol made from corn, they say, drove up the price of corn and therefore their price of doing business and, even to the current day, is affecting the cost of feeder cattle.   I guess they missed the news flash – it wasn't ethanol, folks. Corn prices skyrocketed and that hurt your bottom line. But it wasn't ethanol that raised those prices…

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