AgWired

I’m going to make a couple of remarks about Keith Good. The post before this is Keith’s weekly Tuesday farm trade and policy post that he’s been doing for months on AgWired. However, it’s his last one (although I’m thinking we haven’t heard the last from him).

Keith mentions this in his last post. What he doesn’t go into detail about is the fact that his personal business has grown due to his blogging and his daily e-news publication! Keith is in demand and the demand was built by his courage and abilities to try something that very few have been doing (yet). You can’t read Keith in newspapers, magazines or hear him on radio or see him on tv. He’s a web publisher and a great success story. Web publishing of good content (text, audio, video) is the new media we are all seeing happen right before our eyes and agribusiness is part of the revolution.

Before Keith started FarmPolicy.com he wasn’t widely known as an expert on farm policy. He started small and patiently posted good content day after day. Although I’m not sure of his exact start date I think he’s been blogging and writing for at least a year. Keith is a shining example of how to do it right. I think we can all learn a lot from that.

Keith, we here at ZimmComm apppreciate your contributions to AgWired. Our readers have benefited and we’ll miss the regular post but we’ll keep an eye on your site and point people your way when we can.

If you’re not subscribing to Keith’s daily e-news just visit FarmPolicy.com to get started. As one of his subscribers says, “Farm Policy is the first email I read in the morning. As a congressional staffer who does Ag issues, I find it essential.”

As domestic ethanol production continues to grow, agricultural observers can quickly and easily see many of the potential benefits: increased investment in the rural economy, the environmental benefits of using a renewable fuel, and increased demand for corn, which can lead to higher incomes for corn growers.

However, New York Times reporter Matthew L. Wald, in an article published in yesterday’s paper, provided a look at a potential downfall of increased corn based ethanol production: global hunger.

According to Mr. Wald, “The rising corn prices may be good news for farmers, but they are worrying some food planners.

“‘We’re putting the supermarket in competition with the corner filling station for the output of the farm,’ said Lester R. Brown, an agriculture expert in Washington, D.C., and president of the Earth Policy Institute. Farms cannot feed all the world’s people and its motor vehicles as well, Mr. Brown said, and the result is that more people will go hungry.”

The Times article also included the perspective of Joachim von Braun, the director of the International Food Policy Research Institute who noted that “the mouth of your car is a monster compared to your family’s stomach needs.”

On the other hand, the Times included the view of Nick Young, the president of an agriculture consulting firm, Promar, in Alexandria, Va., who indicated that, “it was an exaggeration to say that nonfood use of crops will make the world’s poor go hungry, but he added that the use of vegetable oil as a substitute for diesel fuel had already driven up the price of canola oil.”

As ethanol use continues to grow, it’s likely that media reports covering various aspects of the industry will continue to grow as well.

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As it turns out, today will be my last guest post at AgWired.com. Activity surrounding my Email newsletter, FarmPolicy.com, continues to grow and requires more time and attention.

I have certainly enjoyed the opportunity to blog at what I consider to be the best ag related blog on the Internet. It has been a wonderful experience. Thanks for reading.

Keith Good writes The FarmPolicy.com News Summary, an Email newsletter containing a summary of news relating to U.S. farm policy which is published most weekdays. For more information, go to www.FarmPolicy.com.