Farmers in the United States are concerned about a possible decrease in the use of ethanol-英语听力

[00:00.100]From VOA Learning English, [00:02.170]this is the Agriculture Report. [00:05.520]Farmers in the United States are concerned [00:08.790]about a possible decrease in the use of ethanol. [00:12.700]Ethanol is a liquid fuel made from plants, [00:16.250]such as corn. [00:18.050]Last November, [00:19.410]the Environmental Protection Agency [00:21.860]proposed lowering the required amount of ethanol mixture [00:25.970]in the nation's gasoline supply. [00:28.880]The required use of ethanol in fuel began in 2007. [00:33.710]The requirement was part of a law called [00:36.800]the Energy Independence and Security Act. [00:40.720]The law established a Renewable Fuel Standard, or RFS. [00:47.030]The RFS ordered fuel refineries [00:50.840]to mix ethanol into their gasoline [00:54.150]to cut the use of non-renewable fuels. [00:57.720]The required amount was to increase over time. [01:01.940]That requirement was good news for corn growers [01:05.690]like Brian Duncan of Polo, Illinois. [01:09.200]He thinks the proposed changes will hurt corn sales. [01:13.680]He says that after a poor harvest in 2012, [01:17.920]farmers enjoyed some of their best corn harvests in 2013. [01:22.860]"As we look at the increased bushels, [01:25.020]our inventories are gonna be worth $3 a bushel [01:29.480]less than what they were valued at a year ago," said Duncan. [01:32.130]The price of corn continues to drop, [01:35.090]from a high of more than $7 a bushel. [01:38.900]A bushel is equal to about 35.2 litre of dry goods. [01:45.160]Corn prices rose in 2012, [01:48.010]that year the corn crop suffered because of a lack of rain. [01:52.920]Yet the demand for corn in ethanol production continued. [01:57.630]"Four-dollar corn in this environment is tough enough, [02:00.090]let alone $2.50 or $2.75 corn, [02:03.640]which is what we could be looking at with another big crop, [02:06.010]which is why we needed higher blend rates of ethanol," said Duncan. [02:09.030]Craig Turner works for the website GrainAnalyst.com. [02:13.940]He says the United States is using around 9% [02:18.450]less gasoline than we used in 2008. [02:21.860]"We can only use 10 percent of ethanol [02:24.460]in a gallon of gasoline [before it harms some engines], [02:26.820]and we basically hit that wall. [02:28.230]So we can't produce any more ethanol; [02:30.180]we have to stay the same, [02:31.380]and if fuel efficiency even gets better, [02:33.950]then the ethanol mandate could come down even further," said Turner. [02:36.600]Craig Turner says less ethanol is needed [02:39.460]as sales of energy-saving automobiles increase. [02:43.640]These vehicles, such as hybrid or electric cars, use less fuel. [02:50.240]"Every year we take older cars off the road [02:53.390]and replace them with more fuel-efficient cars, [02:55.300]we're going to be using less gasoline, [02:56.910]so now that we've reached this peak in corn ethanol [02:59.970]it's actually hurting farmers," said Turner. [03:01.390]But farmers like Brian Duncan [03:04.810]depended on selling their corn to ethanol producers. [03:08.680]"We're happy for the market, [03:10.980]but we have ever increasing yields, [03:13.510]and ever increasing production capabilities, for ethanol, [03:16.490]and we were kind of planning on the EPA following [03:20.190]through with their increase and inclusion of green fuels," he said. [03:23.190]Years ago, the weather was the biggest concern for farmers. [03:28.400]But these days, they have more to be concerned about. [03:32.010]These issues include changing ethanol requirements, [03:36.020]falling corn prices, and the lack of action [03:39.590]in the U.S. Congress on a new farm bill. [03:42.910]And that's the Agriculture Report from VOA Learning English.