06/13/07 Flash In The Pan & More Fuel Efficiency

Flash In The Pan & More Fuel Efficiency plus Food Forethought. I'm Greg Martin with today's Northwest Report. Researchers from Iowa State University are saying that the profits from the ethanol industry may disappear by the end of this year. Citing the rising prices of corn feedstock, increased supplies of the fuel and falling prices as contributing to a negative return on investment they feel this will turn off investors and their forecast calls for almost no growth in production in the six years thereafter. I'd sure like to see the complete report on this one. In other energy news the Senate took on an energy bill yesterday that would raise fuel economy standards and make price gouging a federal crime. One Senator called the fuel efficiency measure the most contentious issue in the energy package. But not everyone agrees that this is the right course of action. Jason Jordan - Manager of Legislative Affairs for the National Cattlemen's Beef Association says an aggressive proposal to increase production of renewable fuels has livestock producers very concerned. JORDAN: Of particular interest to cattle producers is the biofuels portion which calls for increasing the renewable fuels standard to a level of 36 billion gallons by the year 2022 and more specifically for our interest as livestock producers to 15 billion gallons by 2015 for corn based ethanol. Now with today's Food Forethought, here's Susan Allen. So you really do enjoy Starbucks in Safeway. I do too, and I appreciate a nice flower market, a butcher that will help me pick a brisket and tasty take outs. Those and other custom conveniences have brought the "grocery store" back with a vengeance. It seems that more and more of us are becoming weary of the wait at Wal-Mart and according to retail consultants last year supermarkets posted the best sales gain in five years. Annalists believe that supermarkets on are the mend after taking massive hits from membership clubs like Costco and Wal-Mart superstores. Albertsons, Safeway's and Kroger's fought for their market share through aggressive remodeling strategies after discovering that many of us would rather shop in a boutique atmosphere. Safeway's for one has converted nearly half of its 1755 stores into a lifestyle market and with their goal to finish all conversions by 2009 it won't be too long before an iced mocha becomes a common occurrence virtually everywhere you shop. Thanks Susan. That's today's Northwest Report. I'm Greg Martin on the Northwest Ag Information Network.