How much will the sale of biodiesel affect the price paid to farmers for their crops?
With agricultural commodity prices at record low levels, and petroleum prices approaching record highs, it is clear more can be done to utilize domestic surpluses of renewable oils, such as soybean oil, while enhancing our energy security. A 1998 economic study conducted by the USDA Economic Research Service estimated that a sustained national market for 100 million gallons of biodiesel annually could increase the value of the US soybean crop by more than $250 million.
