This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.
Last week, we told about the manyuses for corn. It is America’s most successful crop. Today, we tellabout the hidden costs of corn.
American farmers grow about four times more corn than thecountry’s second biggest crop, soybeans. The United States controlsseventy percent of the corn export market. In fact, forty percent ofthe world’s corn supply in grown in America.
But, some experts say it is possible for a crop to be toosuccessful. Michael Pollan, an expert in plants and agriculture,says that there are hidden costs to growing corn. He says governmentaid to corn growers represents a cost to all Americans who paytaxes. Mister Pollan also notes that it is very difficult to make aprofit from growing corn.
Farmers who grow corn receive more government aid than any othergroup of farmers. The Iowa Agriculture Review reports that corngrowers received twenty-seven percent of all related farm aid innineteen-ninety-nine. Yet, in the same year, corn produced only tenpercent of the value of all crop sales.
The price of corn continues to drop even though the price ofproducts made from it continues to rise. For example, in the lastfive years, the price of food products made from grain, calledcereal, increased by almost six percent. In the same time period,the price of corn decreased by forty-three percent.
Corn production continues to increase, even though pricescontinue to drop. Today, farmers produce more corn per hectare thanthey did in the past. The Economic Research Service of theDepartment of Agriculture studies the causes of price changes incrop markets. It has found that farmers get about seventy-twopercent more corn from their land than they did innineteen-sixty-five. And far more land is used to grow corn today.
Other forces cause corn prices to remain low. The ExportEnhancement Program is one of several laws that gives payments tocrop exporters. These payments help to keep prices low so thatAmerican crops can be sold in foreign markets. But, they also keepprices in the United States low and that hurts American corngrowers.
Experts say people have made corn more productive than it isnaturally. Scientists have genetically changed corn so that itcannot be damaged by most insects. Michael Pollan likes to point outthat corn now controls the people who use it.
This VOA Special English Agriculture Report was written by MarioRitter.