According to U.S. Department of Agriculture statistics released in July, for the first time ethanol production was poised to take more U.S. corn than feed and food combined. An estimated five billion bushels will be used for feed, while 5.05 billion bushels will be used for ethanol and its byproducts (some of which are livestock feed, by the way.)
The National Chicken Council is not pleased. The high price of corn, nearly three times as expensive as five years ago, is the largest single factor in the cost of producing a chicken.