Despite several reports confirming that ethanol and corn prices had a small role in rising food prices, Bob Stallman, President, American Farm Bureau Federation; Tom Buis, CEO, Growth Energy; Roger Johnson, President, National Farmers Union; along with Rick Tolman jointly called for Congress to hold new hearings to determine why food prices are still on the rise. Johnson said that, “We’d love to see the same witnesses who blamed farmers in Congressional hearings last year.”
From Ag Wired.com
Tolman stated, “Our farmers are owed a huge apology for the damage they have done to farmers in the eye of the consumer.” He noted that agricultural technology continues to improve each year and that 2007 and 2008 have seen record corn bushels on decreased acres and this trend is expected to continue in 2009 and beyond.

The group reiterated the importance of ethanol in reducing America’s dependence on oil and stressed the importance of increasing the blend wall to 15 percent (E15) in order for the country to meet the goals laid out in the Renewable Fuels Standard (RFS).