Connecticut paper describes ethanol's 'ripple effect' on organic farmers

Ethanol has changed the way America farms, including the nation's organic farmers. The Hartford Courant explains that the explosion of ethanol has sent feed-grain prices soaring, and that has impacted the organic sector more than any other, especially in the Northeast. Some farmers who raise non-caged turkeys, such as George Purtill (in Courant photo by Bob MacDonnell), have seen their feed mixtures double in costs, reports Rinker Buck:

"America is in the middle of a transition from traditional to organic farming, and the ethanol boom has walked right into that and interrupted progress," Purtill said last week, leaning against the fence of his outdoor turkey range.

"The price I paid last year to feed these birds with specialized organic corn was $200 a ton," he said. "This year I'm paying $400 a ton, a 100 percent increase. My cost of production has just about doubled, and this year the price of my turkeys will have to go up at least $1 per pound."

In addition to the increase in production costs, the demand for corn sent Purtill to add more acreage at the expense of his other valuable vegetable crops. Across the country, farmers planted 90.5 million acres in 2007, a 15 percent jump from the 78.6 million acres planted last year. Organic food production had been growing at an annual rate of 20 percent in New England, but the rise in grain prices could change that. (Read more)