Corn Prices, Ethanol and Feed Price Outlook

University of Nebraska 2007 Swine Report. Livestock feeders, and pork producers in particular, need to be concerned about the impact of corn ethanol demand on corn prices. There is a great deal of uncertainty on the amount of ethanol that will be produced. Using the Chicago Board of Trade, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and a basic diet that simulates the average ingredient needs across a farrow to finish production system, we compared corn and soybean prices as forecast by futures markets to calculate their effect on a production systems breakeven. Producers with high productivity will be better positioned to deal with rising corn prices. Producers have more control over their production efficiency than their ability to offset higher corn cost.