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From VOA Learning English, |
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this is the Agriculture Report. |
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Farmers in the United States are concerned |
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about a possible decrease in the use of ethanol. |
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Ethanol is a liquid fuel made from plants, |
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such as corn. |
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Last November, |
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the Environmental Protection Agency |
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proposed lowering the required amount of ethanol mixture |
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in the nation's gasoline supply. |
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The required use of ethanol in fuel began in 2007. |
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The requirement was part of a law called |
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the Energy Independence and Security Act. |
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The law established a Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS. |
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The RFS ordered fuel refineries |
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to mix ethanol into their gasoline |
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to cut the use of non-renewable fuels. |
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The required amount was to increase over time. |
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That requirement was good news for corn growers |
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like Brian Duncan of Polo, Illinois. |
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He thinks the proposed changes will hurt corn sales. |
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He says that after a poor harvest in 2012, |
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farmers enjoyed some of their best corn harvests in 2013. |
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"As we look at the increased bushels, |
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our inventories are gonna be worth $3 a bushel |
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less than what they were valued at a year ago," said Duncan. |
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The price of corn continues to drop, |
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from a high of more than $7 a bushel. |
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A bushel is equal to about 35.2 litre of dry goods. |
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Corn prices rose in 2012, |
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that year the corn crop suffered because of a lack of rain. |
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Yet the demand for corn in ethanol production continued. |
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"Four-dollar corn in this environment is tough enough, |
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let alone $2.50 or $2.75 corn, |
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which is what we could be looking at with another big crop, |
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which is why we needed higher blend rates of ethanol," said Duncan. |
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Craig Turner works for the website GrainAnalyst.com. |
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He says the United States is using around 9% |
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less gasoline than we used in 2008. |
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"We can only use 10 percent of ethanol |
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, |
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and we basically hit that wall. |
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So we can't produce any more ethanol; |
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we have to stay the same, |
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and if fuel efficiency even gets better, |
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then the ethanol mandate could come down even further," said Turner. |
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Craig Turner says less ethanol is needed |
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as sales of energy-saving automobiles increase. |
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These vehicles, such as hybrid or electric cars, use less fuel. |
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"Every year we take older cars off the road |
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and replace them with more fuel-efficient cars, |
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we're going to be using less gasoline, |
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so now that we've reached this peak in corn ethanol |
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it's actually hurting farmers," said Turner. |
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But farmers like Brian Duncan |
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depended on selling their corn to ethanol producers. |
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"We're happy for the market, |
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but we have ever increasing yields, |
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and ever increasing production capabilities, for ethanol, |
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and we were kind of planning on the EPA following |
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through with their increase and inclusion of green fuels," he said. |
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Years ago, the weather was the biggest concern for farmers. |
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But these days, they have more to be concerned about. |
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These issues include changing ethanol requirements, |
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falling corn prices, and the lack of action |
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in the U.S. Congress on a new farm bill. |
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And that's the Agriculture Report from VOA Learning English. |
