BELOIT — As Stateline-area farmers set out to plant their fields this spring, they find themselves part of a global debate about how their major crop — corn — is used.

More than 20 percent of American corn now is diverted from the food supply to the ethanol industry to keep up with government food-to-fuel mandates. That has created record-high prices for farmers (see related graphic), but also price pressures on food — exacerbated by the high cost of gasoline — that have reverberated around the world.

“There’s no question that the idea of using corn for ethanol has benefited farmers in Wisconsin,” said Jim Miller, president of the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, which supports free markets. “(But) what does it do to the rest of the world in terms of prices of food?”

In some cases, it has contributed to food shortages and public unrest in Africa and Haiti. At home, ethanol production and higher transportation costs have produced a sharp spike in grocery prices. In a USA Today/Gallup poll released Tuesday, nearly half of those responding said food inflation has caused a hardship for their households.

“There’s no question that food prices are going up on everything,” Miller said. “(And) when it affects prices here, it’s going to affect prices in the rest of the world.”

Beloit College professor Marion Fass, who has taught a course on food issues, agrees.

“Part of the problem recently is that prices have gone up for corn (due to) ethanol, and then prices have gone up for tortillas in Mexico,” Foss said. “I think part of the problem is that we started looking at ethanol as a solution to our energy problems without thinking about the consequences.”

For crop farmers, however, these are the salad days, with recent record yields and record-high prices ensuring substantial profits.

“They’re itching to go,” said Jim Stute, crops and soils agent with the University of Wisconsin Rock County Extension office. “They’re at the starting gate, pushing at the block, just waiting to get out there (and plant their fields).”

In Wisconsin, farmers are planting 10 percent less corn this year, because it costs more to raise, and also because demand for corn has produced higher prices for other lower-maintenance crops like wheat and soybeans. Still, the total acreage devoted to corn remains larger than in the past.

“Wheat and corn have kind of led the way in commodities,” said Jason Henschler, a Turtle Township grain farmer who plants corn, soybeans and winter wheat on his 1,500 acres. “Prices are definitely at record levels, as far as I’ve seen.”

Though corn production will be down, said Casey Langan of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, the harvest will “still be the second-largest corn crop that we’ve ever had.”

Henschler’s farm reflects that trend.

“Last year, we were probably 80 percent corn,” he said. “We’ll probably back that off to 70 percent. In the past, we used to be 50-50, probably, corn and soybeans, but we’ve increased our corn over the last two years because of the price.”

Henschler and other farmers say increased costs influenced their decision to plant slightly less corn this year.

“Even though the corn price has doubled, our input cost has also doubled — fuel, fertilizer, feed,” he said. “The high commodity prices are a good thing, but we need to have them that high to break even.”

Clinton grain farmer Gary Sommers agreed.

“So far, the prices are good, but input costs have gone up substantially from last year, too,” Sommers said.

In Illinois, Winnebago County Farm Bureau Manager Roger Christin is seeing similar developments.

“We’re seeing probably a little less corn, as the price of soybeans has increased,” he said, “(But corn) is still the farmer’s favorite crop.”

Miller noted that continued corn production for ethanol will put additional pressure on food prices worldwide, and further stoke the food-for-fuel debate.

“Somewhere in there,” he said, “there has to be a happy medium.”

Langan, of the Wisconsin Farm Bureau Federation, noted that the ethanol industry’s appetite for corn is but one factor affecting the increase in food prices. Higher transportation costs also have a significant impact, he said.

“While ethanol definitely has an impact on the price of corn, it’s not the sole driver of it,” Langan said.

Christin agreed.

“People think it’s all going to ethanol, and it’s not,” he said.

He added that demand for United States grain exports is up because the value of the dollar is down, and that some investors treading water in a bearish stock market have turned their attention to commodities, where speculation has helped drive price increases.

In addition to the corn diverted to the ethanol industry, Langan said, some 20 percent to 25 percent of the domestic crop is exported to countries like China and Brazil, which have expanding middle classes.

“(And) just because it goes into ethanol, it doesn’t mean it’s not in the food chain,” he said. “Some of the corn used for ethanol does work its way into the food chain.”

That corn byproduct, left over from the ethanol-production process, increasingly is used by livestock farmers who have seen corn-based feed costs spike over the past couple of years (see related story).

While debate over corn and ethanol production rages, farmers continue to keep an eye on the cold, wet ground. Those who will plant large amounts of corn want to do so as soon as possible. Though they are not behind schedule, they are approaching the ideal planting date of May 1.

“May 1 is the optimum planting date for corn in southern Wisconsin,” Stute said. “(But) there’s still standing water in some fields.”

Christin said that in Winnebago County, seeds are being sewn.

“We’re seeing a few planters moving now, but the ground’s a little on the chilly side,” he said. “Farmers traditionally like to get it in as soon as they can. The better yields come the earlier that we plant it.”

If farmers have to wait too long to plant corn, they might convert to soybean production, Stute said. That could further restrict supplies of corn intended for the food supply.

“Soybeans aren’t as sensitive to planting dates in terms of yield,” he said.