Corn Ethanol Industry Impacts on US Economics, Environment and Agriculture

Scientists from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville (United States) report the use of a "Policy Analysis simulation model to look at ethanol production scenarios from 2007 to 2016, and evaluated the impacts of corn-ethanol production on land-use and environment for the United States agriculture in these scenarios.

Some results of the study are: (1) increased corn ethanol production had a positive effect on net farm income and economics of the agricultural sector of the United States; (2) traditional corn-growing areas in the mid-continental United States would see substantial shifts in land use for expansion of corn cultivation; (3) traditional growing areas for other crops (such as soybean and cotton) will be shifted out in favor of increased corn production, (4) other effects of increased corn production include: increase in fertilizer and chemical usage, increase in soil erosion, increase in fossil-fuel bases carbon emissions, decrease in soil carbon stocks.

Some strategies to mitigate the potentially adverse impacts from increased corn ethanol production include: (1) the adoption of additional conservation tillage and (2) the use of genetically modified crops with increased nitrogen efficiency. To maximize the potential benefits in the high-risk areas that have been identified, policies and incentives to encourage adoption of conservation tillage and precision farming practices are recommended.

The full study is published in the journal, Journal of Soil and Water Conservation (URL above).