Falling corn prices and questions about ethanol demand could lead Illinois farmers to plant fewer acres of corn this year.
They’re instead taking a closer look at soybeans this year. That’s after several years of increasing corn production fueled by higher prices. Nationwide, analysts have called last year’s crop a record-breaker at more than 14 billion bushels. But excess corn has pushed prices back down from $8 a bushel in 2012 to a current price of about $4.
Also, the EPA has proposed reducing the amount of ethanol required to be blended into the nation’s fuel.