At the feed store this morning

Picking up some feed for my baby chicks, I remarked on the price of corn to Jack, who was loading the bags of grain into the back of my car. “Corn’s gone up a lot lately.”

“Yeah,” he replies. “Bad weather in the midwest, commodities futures, and ethanol production. I’m growing corn myself, might as well make a few bucks while the price is high.”

Those are his words, almost verbatim. He went on at length about how silly it is to grow corn for automotive fuel. And here I had thought just professionally “green” people felt that way.

This is just a tiny little piece of what’s going to be considered next year when Congress works on a new Farm Bill. That link will take you to the USDA official page on the farm bill of 2008. And here’s a link to a more “alternative” perspective, though based on Jack’s remarks this morning, there’s growing consternation about US food and farm policies and “alternative” may no longer apply.

Finally, here’s a hopeful column from Mark Bittman, former food critic for the NY Times, now writing regular opinion pieces for that paper on food and agriculture related topics. Aw, heck, I love Bittman’s “how to” video clips. And, since I’m a bread baker, check this one out:

So, if it rains this weekend, grab a few cups of flour, a little yeast, salt and water, and makes some bread!

Tags: agriculture, bread baking, food, Mark Bittman