Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-fv566 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-17T01:03:07.353Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Response of Corn Acreage to Ethanol Plant Siting

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 January 2015

Yehushua Shay Fatal  and
Walter N. Thurman
Yehushua Shay Fatal
Affiliation:
University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School, Chapel Hill, North Carolina
Walter N. Thurman
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural and Resource Economics at, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, North Carolina
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

U.S. ethanol production capacity increased more than threefold between 2002 and 2008. We study the effect of this growth on corn acreage. Connecting annual changes in county-level corn acreage to changes in ethanol plant capacities, we find a positive effect on planted corn. The building of a typical plant is estimated to increase corn in the county by over 500 acres and to increase acreage in surrounding counties up to almost 300 miles away. All ethanol plants are estimated to increase corn production by less than their annual requirements.

Keywords

bioenergybiofuelsbootstrapcornenergyethanolrenewablespatialQ13Q15Q16Q18
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics , Volume 46 , Issue 2 , May 2014 , pp. 157 - 171
Copyright
Copyright © Southern Agricultural Economics Association 2014

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Angrist, J.D. and Pischke, J.-S.. Mostly Harmless Econometrics. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 2009.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anselin, L. “Some Robust Approaches to Testing and Estimation in Spatial Econometrics”. Regional Science and Urban Economics 20,2(1990): 141–163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Urbanchuk, J.M. and Kapell, J.. Ethanol and The Local Community. Mount Laurel, NJ: AUS Consultants and SJH & Company. June 20, 2002.Google Scholar
Fatal, Y.S. 2011a. “The Ethanol Industry—Location Entry and Plant Capacity Models”. PhD dissertation, Chapter 4, North Carolina State University.Google Scholar
Fatal, Y.S. 2011b. “The Effect of Ethanol Plant Siting on Corn Basis.” PhD dissertation, Chapter 3, North Carolina State University.Google Scholar
Hall, P. “Resampling a Coverage Pattern”. Stochastic Processes and Their Applications 20,2(1985):231–246.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koplow, D. “Biofuels—At What Cost!” Government Support for Ethanol and Biodiesel in the United States. Prepared for: The Global Subsidies Initiative (GSI) of the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) Geneva, Switzerland, October 2006.Google Scholar
Kucharik, J.C. and Ramankutty, N.. “Trends and Variability in U.S. Corn Yields Over the Twentieth Century”. Earth Interactions 9(2005): 1–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lambert, D.M.Wilcox, M., English, A., and Stewart, L.. “Ethanol Plant Location Determinants and County Comparative Advantage”. Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics 40,1(2008): 117–135.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McNew, K. and Griffith, D.. “Measuring the Impact of Ethanol Plants on Local Grain Prices”. Review of Agricultural Economics 27,2(2005): 164–180.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shapouri, H.Paul, G., and Michael, G.. Ethanol Cost-of-Production Survey. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Economic Report Number 808, 1998.Google Scholar
The Clean Fuels Development Coalition and The Nebraska Ethanol Board with cooperation of the USDA, “Guide for Evaluating the Requirements of Ethanol Plants” Summer 2006.Google Scholar