CORN SHORTAGE: The worst of the flooding in the Midwest is over. As the massive clean-up effort gets under way, economists and government agencies forecast livestock feed shortages, crop shortages and higher food prices.

Midwest rivers continue to hover around their recent crest levels, but it appears the worst of the flooding is over. Local, state and federal agencies began the task of evaluating damage and planning for recovery this week. Meanwhile, farmers and displaced residents wait for the waters to recede.

Midwest Flooding: Quick Facts

Fixing Old Levees Threatens Economic Health of Midwest Towns

Even if levees managed to hold back floodwaters, many now need attention:

• Some were damaged during the recent flooding.
• Others are simply too old and need to be updated.

Several towns now face major expenses to repair and upgrade nearby levees. In and around St. Louis, for example, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers estimated a $200 million price tag for updating aging levees.

In addition, area residents could be looking at higher insurance costs. Why? The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the Corps are re-evaluating the country's levee system as part of a nationwide mapping effort.

They found many of the old levees wouldn't pass modern safety criteria.

David Busse, Corps engineering chief in the St. Louis district, said, "It's not that we think these levees will fail. But in order for me to certify these levees, they'd have to meet today's standards, and some of these levees have been here forever." (New York Times, 6/22/08)

In areas where the Corps can't certify levees, nearby residents will suddenly find themselves living in an unprotected flood plain. This could affect a 200,000-acre area and the people who live there:

• Flood insurance required—many homeowners could be required to buy flood insurance.
• Insurance rate hikes—local businesses and governments could pay significantly more in insurance.

Corn Shortage Controversy: Conservation or Ethanol?

In 1985, Congress set up a prairie preservation plan called the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP).

Conservation Reserve Program

CRP originally set aside less-usable farmland to keep farmers from growing too much food. Too much food drives down prices and puts smaller farmers out of business.

The program also...

• provides habitat for prairie wildlife, such as pheasants, ducks, sage grouse, and meadowlarks
• preserves trees, which provide shelter and help prevent wind erosion
• provides places for migrating birds to land
• restores millions of acres of native tall-grass prairie

The recent flooding destroyed a huge amount of this year's corn crop. That means there's much less corn for food and livestock feed.

But corn is also used to make ethanol, a fuel additive that most cars and trucks can burn. (See sidebar.)

Corn Farmers and Ethanol Manufacturers

Corn growers and ethanol companies asked their congressional representatives to consider opening CRP land to grow corn. They argued this would help reduce the price of fuel in the coming year.

They also pointed to a 2005 federal law, which requires the United States use 15 billion gallons of ethanol by the year 2015 to...

• reduce the country's reliance on Middle Eastern oil
• reduce greenhouse gas emissions

Environmentalists and Oil Companies

Environmentalists and other groups—including oil companies—argued against releasing CRP land to corn growers.

They pointed to the environmental benefit of preserving CRP land. They also argued that the ethanol use requirement should be relaxed in light of recent crop losses.

Copyright © 2008 Informify

Question for Readers:

Do you think the U.S. government should turn preserved prairie land into cropland to compensate for the flooding loss of this year's corn crop?