Ethanol should not be getting special breaks

There is a growing recognition that federal subsidies and policies designed to encourage production and use of ethanol - an alcohol-based fuel alternative additive - is a losing proposition for our nation.
 
This became evident locally when the Yuma County Farm Bureau decided to consider a proposal urging changes in federal policies about ethanol. Currently, the policies provide subsidies for ethanol production and mandate its use in an effort to reduce reliance on foreign oil and because it can reduce vehicle emission pollution.
  
The effect of these federal subsidies and policies is to encourage the use of corn for ethanol production, which is good news for corn growers who have seen higher prices for their crops. But critics point out it also increases the cost of food for consumers and makes corn less available for human and animal consumption.
 
It is the animal feed grain problem that is becoming an issue with farm groups like the Yuma County Farm Bureau and others around the state. What is good news for corn growers is bad news for livestock producers who must cope with less availability of feed grain and higher prices.
 
These costs are in turn passed on to consumers who end up paying more for meat products, as well as other food products dependent on corn.
 
It is an illustration of why price supports, production limits, tariffs and other measures taken by the government to control production and the marketplace are such a bad idea.
 
One group may benefit but others are hurt, based on who the government may favor at any given time. The ripple effect of these kinds of policies is sometimes hard to see up-front, but inevitably there are consequences which help some at the expense of others.
 
The marketplace provides a self-balancing answer based on true supply and demand rather than artificially determined supply and demand. The Yuma County Farm Bureau is questioning why ethanol isn't part of that free market equation. It should be, and local farmers may join the growing chorus for a different policy toward ethanol.