The ABA suggested that making more cropland available for production could potentially relieve the situation. More specifically, the ABA has appealed to the Secretary of Agriculture for support in waiving penalties for farmers who return land retired through the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) to production. The ABA believes millions of acres of land that fall under the CRP could be farmed without harming the environment.

In addition, states with the largest CRP enrollments are major wheat-producing regions. The ABA’s appeal to President Bush urged more immediate decisive action on the part of the agricultural secretary, who indicated that he would make a decision on the issue within the next 60 to 90 days, a timeframe that would be too late for wheat growers who are currently making planting decisions for next year.

USDA Acting Secretary Chuck Conner announced his decision during the first week of October by stating that he will not “offer penalty-free early releases from (CRP) contracts at this time, (because of) higher than expected stocks in corn and soybeans for the 2007/08 crop year.”

Dramatic cost increases for commodity raw materials such as soy bean oil, palm oil, stearic acid and glycerin has forced Caravan Ingredients to increase the selling prices of its emulsifier and lactylate products.

“The price increase was inevitable due to spiraling raw material costs,” says Ian Trood, vice president of sales for the Lenexa, Kan.-based company. “Given the current market conditions, a price increase of between 20 percent and 30 percent is expected, although the actual cost increases will vary by product based upon the market driven cost inputs.”
Effective November 1, 2007, prices will be increased for all products not covered by supply contracts.