Can South America Pick Up the Soybean Slack?

The astounding ramp-up in U.S. ethanol production means that acreage planted to corn in the United States will signifi cantly increase over the next fi ve years. The number one source of additional corn acres will be converted soybean acres. Other sources will be converted pasture, land taken out of the Conservation Reserve Program, and land taken out of other crops, primarily wheat. Chad Hart shows elsewhere in this issue that the market is already signaling farmers to convert soybean acres to corn acres. Decreased U.S. soybean acres means increased demand for substitutes for U.S. soybeans, which include soybeans from other countries and other oilseeds from the United States and elsewher